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January 3

Reading 1 - Genesis 5 & 6

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In ch. 6:8 we are told that Noah found grace. He was recognised as a special called out one. There were, of course, many others down the ages, but each had their own understanding. Lot knew he had it - he was greatly confident - Gen.19:18-19. Maybe we feel more like Moses, who was less sure and had to be told Exo. 33:12-17. Grace is given, not earned Ps.84:11. It is the unmerited favour of God on mankind. It is by grace that we labour - like Paul - 1Cor. 15:10 and it is grace that brings salvation Tit.2:11-14, 3:4-8)
Peter Cresswell

5:24 - Enoch, clearly a special person in God's purpose, being chosen to be taken (as was Elijah) that he should not see death does not appear to feature as much in scripture as we might expect - only two other references, both in the New Testament. He makes it to the list of special men of faith in Hebrews 11:5, telling us that it was his faith that brought about this amazing happening, and he is also reported as having made a prophecy in Jude v.14,15
5:3 That Adam had a son 'in his own image after his likeness' contrasts starkly with the creation of Adam [1:26]. Adam's descendants are shown to be in his, and not God's image and likeness. This is the simple explanation for death which comes to those 'who have not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression' [Romans 5:14]

6:5 The way that man thought about evil things all the day is contrasted by David, in his prayer [1 Chronicles 29:18] requesting blessing on Solomon with the way that man should always have God in the imagination of their heart.
Peter Forbes

ch 5 - The recurring phrase in this chapter is 'and he died' :5, 8, 11, 14,17, 20, 31 really marking the point that those in Adam's likeness were mortal.

6:9 That Noah 'walked with God' demonstrates agreement between Noah and God - they must have had fellowship and communicated for God to know that he shared His views (Amos 3:3)
Peter Forbes

WHOSE INFLUENCE?

Mankind was in a very sad state. God saw how wicked the people on earth had become. It was so bad that "the LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (6:6) We also find that "every inclination of the thoughts of his (man's) heart was only evil all the time." (6:5) The world became so bad that God had no other option than to destroy it.

To make a world as evil and corrupt as the world became in Noah's day, meant that every individual person contributed to the wicked state of the world. In today's society that would include all the people that we would normally trust - your family, police, judges, pastors, doctors, councilors and teachers - just to name a few. It would mean that the pressure to be wicked would be intense, since it would be the "normal" thing to do.

Noah was the only one who was different. I believe the reason he was so different was because Noah "walked with God" rather than walking with the people of his world. He was influenced by God to righteousness and blamelessness.

The world will be in a similar state to Noah's time before Jesus returns. Are we going to be some of those influenced by the world and adding to its wickedness, or will we be God's people, walking with him, influenced by him and saved on the day of judgement?
Robert Prins
The Generations of Adam - After such a promising start in Genesis 1, the divine record now brings us face to face with the consequence of rebellion and sin. The recurring theme through Genesis 5 is the phrase... "and he died", which occurs 8 times. It should be 9 (the number of judgement) times, but Enoch was translated that he should not see death. Why? Because he walked with God, indicating that he had developed a dynamic, rather than a passive, relationship with his Heavenly Father. Did Enoch die? The Bible tells us that death passed on ALL MEN, even on those who did not rebel like Adam - Romans 5:14. So though he did die, as far as the record is concerned, Enoch stands as a parable of all those who are alive and remain at the coming of the Lord - 1 Thessolonians 4:17 - who escape death, but who pass through the judgment to emerge triumphant in Glory through the Grace of God, because of the power of the dynamic relationship that has been established with heaven - Hebrews 7:16.

ch 6 - Noah "found Grace in the eyes of the Lord". Unlike most of Noah's contemporaries, Noah was searching for the Grace of God. Which is why he found it.

Have you found the Grace of God yet? Do you know what it looks like?

Mercy is when we do not receive what we do deserve - [like David who found mercy even though he deserved death under the law], and Grace is when we do receive what we do not deserve - [like Noah who received salvation, not because he deserved it, but because he had also built a dynamic relationship with the provider of Grace in heaven].

Giants in the Earth - does not refer to physically large men, but rather to bullies, men of great reputation, who threw their weight around, just as the evil servant described by Jesus in Matthew 24:48-51.

As it was in the Days of Noah - There are many who believe that by these words, Jesus was warning about a relative few who will be saved when He returns. But the warning of Noah is not so much about the number who escaped the flood, but the means whereby they did escape.

Peter describes Noah as "the eighth", - 2Peter 2:5 - meaning that Noah was a representative man, just as Jesus was. To paraphrase Paul, "there was therefore now no condemnation to them who were in the ark with Noah", - Romans 8:1. The fact that there were 7 others with Noah in the Ark, tells us that the salvation Jesus offers is sufficient for all mankind. But it will only be those who belong to His family, who will be with Him on the other side of the next flood of judgment - Matthew 7
:23.
Cliff York
6:14 The word translated "pitch" in 6:14"thou shalt pitch it within and without", can also mean
"atonement" (make atonement x70, reconcile x3, pitchx1). So our sins are covered by our Saviour.
David Simpson

Reading 2 - Psalms 6, 7 & 8

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Psa.8 - What amazing insight God gave through David here about the son of man (v.4). In v.5 we have a reference back to creation, but more importantly forward to Jesus - as picked up in Heb.2:9 and explained for us. This gives double meaning to v.6 of this Psalm too. Not only does man have dominion over creation (Gen.1:20) but also THE man (Jesus) has ultimate eternal dominion 1Cor.15:24-27 - dominion over everything, except God.
Peter Cresswell
Psa 7:4 and 25:3 use the hebrew word 'reyqam' and translate it 'without cause'. Elsewhere this word is translated empty or vain, so without cause here means either without substance, or without God. This makes Psa.25:3 especially make a lot more sense.
Peter Cresswell
6:5 Whilst we might be tempted to use this verse to prove that the soul does not go to heaven n death this is not why the Psalmist says it. Rather, anticipating his own death, he is praying for an extension of his life so that he can continue to praise God now.

Psa 7 - This Psalm was written because of the words of Shimei - 2 Samuel 16:7. So the use of 'if' v3,4 and the call for God to allow the enemy to persecute him - v6 - are not general comments, nor is David making some claim to have done nothing wrong. Rather, on listening to the accusations of Shimei, his is pleading for God to judge, on the basis that he is not guilty of the specific accusations of Shimei. This is why he would not allow Abishai to go and kill Shimei. 2 Samuel 16:9

Psa 8 - Hebrews 2 shows that this Psalm speaks of the supremacy of Jesus over creation consequent upon his resurrection.
Peter Forbes

6:8 Jesus quotes 'Depart … iniquity' (Matthew 7:23 Luke 13:27). On both occasions he is speaking to his disciples warning them how he will deal with those who reject him at his return.

7:8 In saying 'The Lord shall judge the people' David is quoting Deuteronomy 32:36 demonstrating that he was willing to leave judgement in God's hand because He had promised that he would intervene on behalf of His people.

8:3 It is a consideration of the greatness of creation which caused David to think about the position of man in the great scheme of things. We should do likewise and realise that despite our insignificance - the nations are but as a drop in a bucket (Isaiah 40:15) - the creator of all that we can see is concerned for our well being!
Peter Forbes

Psalm 6 - LIFE IS THE TIME FOR GOD
Seconds, minutes, hours, days weeks and years all follow each other relentlessly, never stopping to allow us to relive even one second of our time. Once that time has gone it can never be retrieved and we are another moment closer to the end of our life. And we do not even know when the end of our life will be - it could be only minutes away, or it could be decades. So the important action that follows on from this knowledge is that we must make the most of every moment of life that God gives us. The very best we can ever do with our time is to give it to God - in service, meditation, praise, reading his Word, prayer, building Godly relationships and Godly families. The Psalmist says, "No-one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from his grave?" Life is the time to serve the Lord. So let us use our lives wisely. Make every second count. Use the time you have been given for the important things in your life because you will never have the same opportunity again.

Psalm 7, 8 - OUR MAJESTIC GOD
Yes, the LORD God is majestic and glorious. His wonderful creation tells of his power. The sun, moon and stars hang in the heavens showing to us how small we are in comparison to the extent of the universes that God has so perfectly set in order. We live on one small planet on the edge of a galaxy. Our solar system is only nine planets and a sun set in a vast array of other stars and planets in our galaxy. The universe is made up of thousands more galaxies like ours, so large and with so many millions of stars that they are impossible to measure or count.
But God has created us too, and he has given us a very special place in his creation. He cares for us and loves us even though we are such a small part of his creation. He gave us the ability to think, reason and make choices, he gave us rile over the earth and all that is on it and he has offered us salvation.
Yes, the LORD God is a majestic God. But the best part of all is that he is our God - our personal God who hears, sees, and loves us with a love that is greater than we could ever begin to imagine.
Robert Prins
Psalm 6:10 - "Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly." - May they as deeply deplore their transgressions as I have done mine! May they return; may they be suddenly converted! The original will bear this meaning, and it is the most congenial to Christ's life principles.

Psalm 7:1 Cush the Benjamite - As to Cush the Benjamite, he is a person unknown by that appellation in Jewish history; the name is probably a name of disguise; and by it David may covertly be referring to Saul himself, the son of Kish, who was of the tribe of Benjamin. The subject of the Psalm will better answer to Saul's unjust persecution and David's innocence, than to any other subject in the history of David.

Psalm 8:4 - The Son of Man - Psalm 8 is one of the most often quoted Psalms in the New Testament writings. The title "Son of Man", in the very many places it subsequently appears, almost always relates to the delegated authority that Jesus has received from His Father to faithfully judge His Brethren - John 5:27. Why? Because this one had total dominion over Himself, therefore His Father has given Him dominion over all things - Genesis 1:26-28.
Cliff York

Reading 3 - Matthew 5

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v.22 What is going on here? The word Raca is a word of aramaic origin that means 'a senseless, empty-headed man' It was used at the time of Christ as a term of reproach. So it was rather like saying 'Thou fool' - so what of the third example (which carries the worst condemnation) that is actually rendered 'Thou fool'? The word here is moros and implies impiety or godlessness. Food for thought. How do we speak of each other? To help with this word moros, here are some more occurrences of it: Matt.7:26, 23:17, 25:2-8. Consider also the use in 1Cor.1:27, 3:18, 4:10.
Peter Cresswell
5:25-26 is re-presented again by Jesus in Luke 12:58-59. On this later occasion Jesus is preparing his disciples for the future. As you read the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 look at your marginal references and see how often Jesus uses the same words later in the gospels to teach the disciples. Luke 10-15 is a particularly profitable area to investigate.
Peter Forbes
Whilst we might think that the sermon on the mount was spoken to a great multitude - see :1 - a careful reading shows us that Jesus separated the disciples from this multitude to speak the words of Chapter 5-7 to them. He was beginning their preparation for the work that they would have to do when he had been taken from them.
Peter Forbes
Matthew 5,6,7 are commonly known as the "Sermon on the Mount", but more accurately it ought to be called the "King's Policy Speech for The Kingdom."

In contrast to when the Law was given to Moses, the multitudes here follow Jesus up the mountain - cp Exodus 19:12.

The eight Blessings He proceeds to pronounce upon the people in what has become known as the Beatitudes, contrast particularly with the curses that issued forth from Mt Ebal when the Children of Israel came into the Land under Joshua - cp Deut 27:13.

The Beatitudes also contrast exactly with the 8 Woes which came thundering from our Lord's lips at the end of His ministry in Matthew 23.

Matthew 5:16 - Your Father which is in Heaven - up until now in the Old Testament Scriptures, the Fatherhood of God has only been hinted at obliquely less than half a dozen times. Now that the Son is manifest, the New Testament uses this appellation for God at least 269 times (perhaps you might count the exact number for yourself). Not only is God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but by Grace He is our Father also, and we are His children - Matthew 5:45-48.
Cliff York