Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 5 November 2023
Our Dysfunction and God's Grace
Scripture References: Genesis 38:1-30, Psalms 42:1-11, Ruth 4:18-22, Matthew 1:1-6
Gathering Growing Going
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CloseGenesis 38 really does stand out! For many, it interrupts the natural flow of Joseph’s story, it lays out the sordid life of a culture and a world we do not understand, and there seems nothing to redeem Judah in his behaviour towards God, his own family and Tamar, his daughter-in-law. In fact, you might get to the end of Genesis 38, throw your hands up, and cry out, ‘Who can save this family, which is the hope of the world?’ And, yet, this account is here for a very clear purpose. This is the account of Jacob’s family, and so a focus on other sons should not surprise us. Judah is the nominal head of the sons of Jacob, after the fall from grace of Reuben, Simeon and Levi. Judah’s nature and character is clearly on show here, contrasting with Joseph, and setting our lenses for reading the rest of Genesis. And whilst this is a foreign landscape, the promises of God are not foreign – his grace is evident, his judgement of sin is evident, his work in human nature is evident… and his promise to reverse the curse will emerge from this sordid episode – just read Matthew 1!
Scripture References: Genesis 38:1-30, Psalms 42:1-11, Ruth 4:18-22, Matthew 1:1-6
Related Topics: Grace | More Messages from Bernard Gabbott | Download Audio
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The Department of Home Affairs has an Australian Values Statement on its website. Visa applicants for residency/citizenship must sign this. And one of its key principles is that we are a ‘fair-go’ country. We would all agree with that. I suspect, too, that we would summarise our ‘fair go’ culture by stating that ‘you get what you deserve/what you work for’. In fact, many of us have established our relational, social and work ethics on this very principle. But is that what the ‘kingdom of heaven is like’? What is its value statement? What is the hallmark of such a kingdom, and its ruler, even its citizenship? Today, after Jesus has assured his disciples that the dependent will be provided for by their king, he now uses the same ideas to issue with them a warning not to abuse, misuse, ignore or become entitled in the face of the kingdom of heaven hallmark—which is grace.
Jesus deals with the question of ‘Who belongs in the kingdom?’ Is it children? Is it the good? Is it the godly? And, how and what does this look like? This question of ‘belonging’ is one that is constant in our lives – where do I belong, do I belong, what does belonging look like? And Jesus is very clear: the kingdom of heaven is made up of the dependent, the reliant, the weak – just like children.
The book of Esther recounts a period where God's people are in exile, aliens in a foreign land. Sounds like our time doesn't it? Even when God seems absent, He is at work. The great reversal of power at the heart of the universe has already taken place. Jesus won victory over death on the cross and in His resurrection. Satan the great enemy of God and His people, has been defeated. We wait in the now but not yet. Waiting for the Lord Jesus to return and give His people relief and rest. But as we wait, we share the good news of the gospel, call people to faith in Jesus, faithfully endure persecution, knowing that our deliverance is assured.
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