Tag Archives: Matthew 13:24-46

January 20, 2015 Bible Study — Let God Sort Them Out

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 4:1-6

    The proverb writer tells young men to listen to their father. He is giving them the best advice that he can. Your father was once someone’s son. No matter what your father teaches you, hold on to wisdom and develop good judgment. With those two tools, you will be able to listen to what your father teaches you and distinguish between what he says which is wise and what represents lessons he has incompletely learned. However, never make the mistake of thinking you know more than your father.

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Psalm 18:1-15

    I will make God my strength and my fortress. It is to Him I will turn for protection. We may seem to be at the end of our ropes about to die and God may seem far away, but He will hear our cry. No matter how far away He may be, God is not so far from us that He cannot arrive in time to rescue us. It matters not what obstacles have been put in His path, He will brush them aside, destroying whatever stands between Him and delivering us. Our enemies may think they have planned so as to prevent Him from reaching us, but they will not see God coming until it is too late. I will trust in the Lord and be faithful to Him when times are good, then I will know that I can trust in Him when times are bad and trouble is at the door.

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Matthew 13:24-46

    Jesus tells us several parables that describe aspects of the Kingdom of Heaven in today’s passage. In the first of these, He describes weeds growing up among the crops in a field. Rather than send His workers to weed the field, God tells them to wait until the harvest to separate the weeds from the crop. The problem with trying to pull the weeds before the harvest is that we will accidentally pull some of the crop as well. This is the problem with trying to decide who, and who is not, a Christian. Some of those we decide look like “weeds” will turn out to be part of the “good crop”. If we “pull” them up before they are ripe we lose the opportunity to experience the fruit they would have produced. It is not our job to sort the “weeds” from the “good crop”. Let God sort them out when the time comes.
    Next we have the parable of the mustard seed. There are probably other ways to look at this, but for me it is a reminder not to worry that our starting point in addressing a problem is small. The mustard seed is very small, but the plant which grows from it is very large. In the same way, those whom God has called to a task may seem too few to accomplish the task, but they will grow in number until their impact spreads well beyond what anyone would have dreamed possible..
    This is followed by the parable of the yeast. This parable made me realize a key factor about the role of Christians in society. The yeast used to make bread is a very small part of the ingredients. Yet, the yeast transforms the dough. If you mix all of the other ingredients together and leave out the yeast, the dough ball thus formed will remain static. On the other hand, when you add yeast, the dough ball becomes transformed and expands. This is the nature of Christians in society. If we live faithful lives we will transform society around us, changing it for the better all out of proportion to our numbers in that society.

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Genesis 41:17-42:17

    Yesterday I talked about how Joseph remained faithful to God even in all of his troubles. Today’s account talks about when Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. When Joseph told the Pharaoh the meaning of his dream he did not put himself forward at all. It was Pharaoh who thought that Joseph was a good choice to execute the plan which Joseph had outlined. When I read how Joseph presented the plan, I read an account of someone who was more concerned with the best interests of people than with accumulating power. We should strive to emulate Joseph AND seek leaders who emulate Joseph.
    Joseph did not tell the Pharaoh, “Put me in charge to make this plan work.” Rather Joseph said, “Find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge.” It is hard for me to imagine that Joseph did not think he was the best man for the job, but rather than put himself forward, he put the plan forward. If it took someone else being put in charge to get the plan implemented, Joseph was OK with that.

January 20, 2014 Bible Study — Let God Sort Them Out

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Genesis 41:17-42:17

     There are a lot of lessons about God’s providence in this passage. One of the most important is the lesson that in times of plenty we should set aside some of our excess for when times are once again hard. God will provide for our needs, but we have to gather when times are good and save against the hard times. I will even say that God will provide for us in the good times enough so that, if we follow His will, we will be in a position to help those in need in the hard times.

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Matthew 13:24-46

     This is the passage from which the idea of “Kill them all, let God sort them out” derives. Although that phrase badly misses the point of what Jesus says here. He does indeed say, “Let God sort them out.” However, His point was that if we pull the “weeds”, we will inadvertently pull some of the “wheat” as well. Then we will lose some of the blessings which God intended for us to receive. The loss of the good that will happen when we try to decide who is “weed” and who is “wheat” is not worth the gain. Jesus message in this passage is, “Don’t kill any of them, let God sort them out (when the time is ripe).”
     Jesus follows this up with two parables about the Kingdom of Heaven that emphasize the fact that we should not underestimate the impact of doing the small things to which God calls us. The fact that we are few, or that something is minor, should not make us think that it is pointless to act. The mustard seed is very small, yet grows into a large bush. Yeast is a minor ingredient in bread, yet it changes the entire loaf. In the same way, we may start out as just a few people, yet if we do God’s will, He will draw many to us and the tasks He assigns us may seem minor, yet they will transform the community around us. Never think that you are too unimportant and insignificant for God to use you to transform the world.
     Finally, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure that is worth us sacrificing everything we value to obtain. If we have truly understand the Gospel message, we will find no amount of hardship and suffering too much to gain the rewards it offers.

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Psalm 18:1-15

     Every time I read this psalm it makes me want to cry for joy. The Lord is my strength. I called out to Him in my distress and He saved me. If you have not read this psalm, read it now. It reads like a scene from an action movie: Our hero is about to be dragged to his death by his enemies. He cries out to God and God answers him. The earth quaked and the mountains shook. Smoke and fire poured forth as God descended on the wings of an angel to save the psalmist from his enemies. I cannot do it justice in my paraphrase, the visuals which the psalmist evokes are just so intense.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.

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Proverbs 4:1-6

     The best advice a father can give his child, son or daughter, is contained in this proverb: Get wisdom and develop good judgment, never turn your back on wisdom.

January 20, 2013 Bible Study — I Will Call Upon the Lord

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

"OK, how about if I do this?"
“OK, how about if I do this?”

Genesis 41:17-42:17

     Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams. Joseph tells Pharaoh that God is using the dreams to tell him that Egypt is about to experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph advises Pharaoh that he should find a wise and intelligent man and put that man in charge of gathering a portion of the harvest during the good years to be held in reserve for the coming years of famine. Pharaoh heard Joseph’s advice and thought that it was wise. Pharaoh decided that the best person to implement Joseph’s plan was the person who had proposed it (Joseph). So Pharaoh made Joseph the second most powerful man in Egypt and gave him a wife from a powerful official in his court. Joseph implemented the plan and when the famine came, it hit more than just Egypt, but Egypt was prepared and people came from throughout the region to purchase food from Egypt.
     The famine struck Canaan as well. When Jacob learned that there was grain available in Egypt, he sent his ten oldest sons to Egypt to buy grain. When Joseph’s brothers arrived in Egypt, Joseph saw them and recognized them, but they did not recognize him. He approached them and accused them of being spies. They vociferously denied this telling him that they were all sons of one man. They told him that they had two additional brothers, the youngest, who was with their father, and one who was dead. Joseph had them arrested and told them that one of them would be released to go back to their father to bring their youngest brother to prove that they were telling the truth.
     Joseph is testing his brothers here. He is attempting to see how they will react to a threat to their half-brother Benjamin (Joseph’s full brother). We do not know what Joseph would have done if his brothers reacted to this differently, so I do not want to put too much emphasis on Joseph’s motives. Rather, I think the place to focus in this story is on how his brothers react to this situation, which we will see in tomorrow’s passage.

Two Stumps In The Snow
Two Stumps In The Snow

Matthew 13:24-46

     Matthew gives us a series of parables that Jesus told. The first is the story of the wheat and the weeds. The story is about a farmer who sows some wheat seeds. In the night his enemy comes and sows some weed seeds among those wheat seeds. When the seeds sprouted, the weeds sprouted up along with the wheat. When the farmer’s servants saw the weeds among the wheat, they asked if they should pull the weeds. The farmer told them not to because in the process of pulling the weeds, they might uproot some of the wheat. Instead the farmer tells them to wait for the harvest to separate the weeds from the wheat. This is a lesson for us that we cannot reliably separate out those who are serving God, but have not yet reached maturity so as to bear fruit, from those who are serving Satan and will never bear fruit. If we attempt to get rid of those who are “weeds”, we will inevitably destroy some of the “wheat”. This does not mean that there can be no Church discipline, as Church discipline is not intended to pull the “weeds” but instead is intended to train the “wheat” in how it should grow to bear the most fruit. God will separate the wheat from the weeds when the time is ripe.
     Next are the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast. There are several different messages contained in these two parables. However, they contain one message in common. They talk about how something that seems small and insignificant can have a large impact. The mustard seed may be small but it grows to the largest plant in the garden. Yeast is practically insignificant compared to the other ingredients in dough, yet it is the yeast that causes the dough to grow to double in size (or more, if you let it). Both of these parables tell us that while we may seem few in number and insignificant in the world around us, if we allow God to put us where He wishes us to be we can be a major force in this world. Perhaps God will cause our group to grow and become a noticeable presence in the world, like the mustard bush. Or perhaps He will cause our group to grow and permeate society around us to transform it, like the yeast. In either case, the key is to serve God.
     The final two parables in today’s passage talk about someone who finds a great treasure and risks all that they have to obtain it. Am I willing to risk all I have and am to serve God, to gain the Kingdom of heaven?

The Feast Laid Out
The Feast Laid Out

Psalm 18:1-15

     

I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.

I could think of no better way to express what this psalm means to me. Do not be afraid to call upon the Lord when you are in distress. He will hear and answer your prayer. Read this psalm and recognize the unstoppable power with which God will ride to the rescue of those who love Him. He will shield the brightness of His presence until He is ready to strike. Then His enemies will be struck suddenly with irresistible force, as if by hail and lightning. I recently faced a significant financial setback that was causing me to wonder how I was going to pay all of my bills. I called on the Lord and He provided me with the means to pay my bills above and beyond what I asked for.

What Winter Should Look Like
What Winter Should Look Like

Proverbs 4:1-6

     This proverb advises the young to remember that their fathers were once young. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that they do not understand, they were once in your shoes. We gain wisdom and understanding by listening to those with more experience than ourselves. If we love wisdom, it will guard and protect us.