BIAY - January 4

I love learning so much when I delve into the Scriptures! Here we go:

Genesis 10-12
Lots of genealogy in this section! I just love those names!

So, the descendants of Ham, Shem, and Japheth are spread out among Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The Tower of Babel is built, but not in a way to glorify God. God comes down from the tower to confuse the languages of all the people in an attempt to slow down the spread of their sins.

What I found interesting in today's scriptures comes from the footnotes. At the time when God calls Abram to leave his country and to go to the land He promised him, Abram was polytheistic. Abram's father, Terah, and his whole family worshipped the moon gods, and probably others. The fact that when the Lord spoke to Abram and he followed showed great faith, faith that only took hold once the Lord called to him.

Of course, though, our faith is tested (see more about that in the Matthew section of this post), and Abram's was as well. Once Abram got into Egypt, he became worried that the people of Egypt would kill Abram in order to take his wife, Sarai, for themselves because she was so beautiful. (And also politically affluent as well, apparently.) Instead of relying on God to protect him, Abram concocted a scheme that got him into great trouble with the Pharaoh and required God to intervene. We will be tested as a part of our walk in faith, but we should not worry because God remains faithful to his promises. (I know, easier said than done sometimes.)

Matthew 4
At the end of Matthew 3, Jesus is baptized by John the Baptizer, and God speaks from the heavens and identifies Jesus as his Son. At the beginning of Chapter 4, Jesus is tempted by the devil.

Isn't this how it works? Once we have decided to commit our lives to Christ (or sometimes even to recommit, or whatever the case may be), that is when the devil, or as the footnotes call him, literally the tempter, we are tempted by sin! Our walk alongside Christ is not an easy one, and no one knows it better than our Savior himself. It is comforting to know that Jesus understands the nature of temptation; it helps him sympathize with me in my times of temptation. And heaven knows, there are many of those times :)

Blessings in Christ,
Dallas