God’s Great Generosity Amid Rebellion
Good morning. Today we will look at God’s generosity amid the last two of what I call the 3 Great Rebellions. The 3 Great Rebellions are characterized by humans and supernatural beings working together to undermine God.
Before we get to the 2nd Great Rebellion let's look at generosity in the Cain and Able story.
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
We often hear or teach that God didn’t like Cain’s offering because he withheld his best. But is that what scripture says? What God didn’t like about Cain’s offering was what was in Cain’s heart when he did it. We are to understand that Cain felt begrudged in his obedience to the Lord. When God called him out, he responded so. Look at Deuteronomy 26.
Do you remember when we talked about this in the tithing rant, I subjected you to? In Malachi 2, God spoke of their offerings of dung. Jesus in Matthew 23:23 ring any bells? Yes, God wants your best because He deserves it. He is the Creator of All Things. However, God cannot be bribed. He wants your best when you are glad to do it. Gee, sounds a little bit like the Gospel’s call to be a cheerful giver, doesn’t
it?
Prosperity teachers want you to be cheerful because you should expect something back. You should be cheerful because you have a proper understanding of who God is and where humans stand in His regard, expecting nothing in return because giving your best with gratitude is literally the least you can do. Without mourning your faith, never forget you don’t deserve anything more than God’s generous wrath. We celebrate our faith because we know the truth. The truth is God does love you, God does want you, and God will have you; however, it comes at a cost for both Him and you. He ransomed His son Jesus, and you sacrifice not in blood but in obedience and submission to the very Son that took on your debts.
God, in later commandments calls for the death penalty for murder, yet He merely moves Cain further from His people and presence. He blesses Cain with a fruitful family and blesses Adam and Eve with an even greater replacement. I hope you are seeing the Gospel is already being played out all the way back in Genesis. When you see this ancient hope, your faith should grow knowing that our God is THE God, and His nature is truly Holy and Righteous. If we our generous in our love for
one another and towards God, He will be generous in His blessings over us and our tents.
There are so many rabbit trails we could end up on if we aren’t careful when we are looking at the Great Rebellions. I’ll be brief so that tomorrow we can start taking giant leaps through the Bible. I hope by now I’ve helped you understand God’s ancient generosity. I pray the Holy Spirit is speaking into your heart and you are
feeling secure under His wings.
The last two Great Rebellions, Genesis 6, and Genesis 11 are The Flood and the Babel incidents. When humanity and supernatural beings were generous in their wickedness God was generous in His judgement. Notice in both scenarios God preserved a remnant. Granted His remnants would ultimately fail He chose to act through certain people in certain times. Noah was righteous in the moment and God acted. Abram was righteous in the moment and God acted. This goes for men like Jacob, Judah, David, and Solomon. Same goes for the prophets, kings, and women like Rahab, Tamar, and Mary. Were any of these people perfect? Obviously not or Jesus would have been unnecessary. God does what He can without violating His perfect righteousness to provide us with a way to be with Him.
Tomorrow we might make a couple stops in the Pentateuch, but I want to place our focus on Hosea and Lamentations. We will then make a jump to Jeremiah and Isaiah. We will finish out the week in the New Testament. In the New Testament I am going to avoid the common go-to’s. I think the material giving and social justice
teachings have been whipped to death. We get it. What I want to focus on is our hearts and our hope in the future of Earth 2.0 when Jesus becomes our Holy Place
in the City of God.
Jesus, we thank You for coming to save the remnant. As Noah’s ark bore humanity through God’s judgment, so will You carry us into Heaven. Father, we come before You each day asking for a greater understanding of Your commandments. Thank You for Your Spirit. Holy Spirit, speak into our minds and into our hearts as we seek for clarity and purpose in our lives. We trust the Triune God to provide all we need in generosity, salvation, and discipline. We ask these things for the glory and in the name our Messiah, Jesus, amen.
Hodu
Hodu l’Adonai ki tov
Ki l’olam chasdo
Hodu l’Adonai ki tov
Translation:
Give thanks to the Lord
for His is good;
for His mercy endures forever!
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