Pastor Bob DuPar
January 5, 2009

Journal Entry



Scripture

Genesis 11:1-13:4; Matthew 5:1-26; Psalm 5:1-12; Proverbs 1:24-28

Observation

“The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” Genesis 11:5-7

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. …all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3

“Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake (at your expense) and my life will be spared because of you.” Genesis 12:13

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Matthew 5:6, 8

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16

Application

Genesis 5:11ff has always bothered me. The wording of the passage makes it sound like God was fearful or even threatened by the unified ambitions of mankind. Nothing could be further from the truth! Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians 1:25 that,

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Genesis 11 is simply one of those passages (like Genesis 3:22-23) in which God is saving us from ourselves – saving us from the consequences of our sin. Nothing good ever results from a dream or ambition which begins with a motivation like: “Come let us make a name for ourselves…” (11:4)

Matthew 5:8 challenged me to look at holiness and purity as a means to seeing God! Often, I/we only look at a subject like holiness in terms of the negative consequences of not obeying God’s commands.

Prayer

“Lord, help my light to shine for all to see. May others see You in me; and, may they trust You as Savior and Lord, giving You all the glory.”