Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Faithful and Just
Date: Tuesday January 03, 2012
Today's Chapters: Genesis 9-12
Preview of Today's Message: No matter how much we try to do the right thing, the truth is until we shed this flesh we are going to mess up sometimes, but God in His mercy and grace is always ready to help us out of our messes when we humble ourselves before Him. All Scripture quoted from the King James Version, verses in red are quoted by Jesus.

Hello My Friend,

Of all the sins committed the most corrupted and destructive are the ones done with the flesh, sins like fornication, substance abuse, gluttony, and drunkenness. The strongest Christian can give into sins of the flesh and it usually happens when they are bored or have nothing to do. Noah, the man who God chose to replenish all mankind because of his faithfulness to God, after he had completed his work, began to drink wine he drank so much that he became drunk. “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” - Genesis 9:20-27.

The drunkenness of Noah is recorded in the Bible, with that fairness which is found only in the Scripture, to show that the best of men cannot stand upright unless they keep their eyes upon God in all that they do. Ham is quick to expose his fathers infirmities, perhaps to even his grandson, Canaan, but Shem and Japheth, respecting their father, covered him up, careful to not even look at him. We are all sinners, therefore, we have no right to gossip or expose ones sins to others, it's disrespectful and also opens up exposure to our own sins. “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” -Matthew 7:2-5.

Noah was aware that Ham exposed him and because of his dishonor he declared a curse on Canaan, a servant of servants he shall be, meaning he and every generation that follows will face severe poverty, today we know this as African nations. What was Ham's sin? He dishonored his father. When Ham dishonored his father he had no idea the affect it would have on future generations of his, that one foolish decision paved the way for generations of fools rebelling from the one true God and creating their own gods, or even trying to measure themselves up to God themselves. “And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” - Genesis 10:6-10.

Nimrod was a great man in his day; he began to be mighty in the earth, Those before him were content to be upon the same level with their neighbors, and though every man bare rule in his own house, yet no man pretended any further. Nimrod was resolved to lord it over his neighbors. Nimrod established the first world empire and ruled it, the city was known as the city of Babel (Babylon). As their leader he convinced them to build a city and tower that could reach up to heavens. “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.” - Genesis 11:3-7.

What was his sin? Idolatry and disobedience to God's command to form many nations. Against God's will these people united to build a city and town to prevent their separating. The tower had nothing to do with God, it was meant to be worshiped, for their glory. God dealt with this rebellion by scattering the people into different nations and giving them different languages. God does the same today by only letting those who are saved understand His Word. Oh, many may claim they know the Bible, but only those who have been converted, have received Christ are given the ability to understand Him. “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.” - Mark 4:11,12.

Shem's decedents would become the Jews, who were for a great while, the only professing people God had in the world. Japheth's decedents would become the Gentiles, who would follow in Shem's footsteps, as professing God. We are now introduced to Abram, a decedent of Shem. Abram, which means exalted father, was chosen by God to become the father of the Jews, opening the way for Gentiles to be converted as well. “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” - Genesis 12:1-3.

Abram responded to God's call and by faith gave up his country, home, family, and friends trusting in Him to guide the way. Of course, being blessed to be the father of a great nation did not mean that he was not going to make any foolish decisions once in a while. During a famine Abram and his wife Sarai headed for a place where they could go for food. “And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.” - Genesis 12:10-17.

What was Abram's sin? Hi lied, he also exposed his wife and the Egyptians to sin as well. The grace Abram was most noted for, was his faith in God, yet when faced with a circumstance he lost his faith and chose to handle things on his own rather than trust God. So many people get themselves and others caught up in messes because of foolish decisions. If we take the time to truly think about what we are facing and weight out all the possibilities with God guiding us we would keep ourselves from making so many foolish decisions. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” - 2 Peter 2:9.

What will become of weak faith, when strong faith has been shaken? If God did not deliver us so many times out of the messes we bring ourselves into, by our own sin and folly, we would be cast right into hell. Praise God that even when we do make some foolish decisions He is always with us and protects us too. I can count countless times that I have escaped foolish decisions, having no idea at the time that it was God that was pulling me out of it. You see, if you are saved, born again, and only trusting in Christ to get you to heaven that you are a child of God. That means He is always watching over you and will pull you out of every mess that you get into, no matter how many times you mess up. He loves you, He gave His Son to die for you because He loves you. When you mess up, don't be afraid, just admit it, He is right there to help you clean things up. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” -James 4:8-10.

Today's Psalm: “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” - Psalm 23:3.
Today's Proverb: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” - Proverbs 3:5.
Today's Prayer: God, it is Your desire that we stay faithful to Your teachings. Scripture gives many examples of those who knew to do right, but chose to do wrong. The consequences of their wrong actions inflicted a great deal of loss, life-long regret and emotional pain, not only for themselves, but others as well. Help us to avoid the traps Satan has set for the believers by not only reading the Word, but applying its truth to our lives, and standing firm when the temptation to do wrong is ever before us. Help me to present my body, mind, and voice in a way that is holy, upright, and honorable to You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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