A STUDY IN GENESIS
As promised we are talking about Shem’s descendants and the incredible work that had to be put in place for Jesus to come to earth in His first coming!
Reading the account of Luke, we see that Shem’s decedent would be the savior of the world. Ironically, Shem’s father, Noah, had saved the world by being an obedient servant and following the Lord’s instructions. Shem’s decedent, Jesus, was also obedient to follow the Heavenly Father’s instruction and save humanity from their sin. Now what does this mean for our study in Genesis? And what does this mean for the Christmas season we are currently in?
First, when we follow God’s direction, we might not see the residual effects of us obeying and acting out in faith. Noah nor Shem saw Jesus Christ’s birth! However, both trusted the Lord and acted upon the Ark as seen. Does Shem know the significance behind his actions? Certainly not. Nevertheless, their actions do not seem short sighted when you examine them across the grander scale. The author of Hebrews actually identifies Noah as a man of righteousness because of this! Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
As for Christmas, what does this mean? It means we can take God’s Word seriously! Not just in study, but in our own personal actions. While Jesus will not be a decedent of you or I, we are a decedent of Him! Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you [are] Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” This is no small price for this adoption and new birth! We are adopted into Christ’s family because of the mechanism put in place by God Himself called Calvary. We are born again as the direct result of that mechanism identifying us as adopted. This might sound tricky, confusing, or even double speak, but rest assured it is not.
You see, Christ had to be born and be 100% man and keep His divinity, He was still 100% God as the same time. Christmas is the celebration of that intertwined symbol orchestrated for all of humanity. Noah’s son, Shem, and his decedents we can directly link to Christmas. We could not be adopted otherwise! Without Christ being human and living a perfect life, we could not be adopted. Now what about born again? Simply, being born again is not possible unless the Holy Spirt is granted access to those who are adopted into the family of God. Light living in man once again, this is the born again process. This process being called sanctification will continue until we are rescued from our earthly bodies.
Finally, this means that as you study God’s Word, look for the residual effects that have brought about cataclysmic and earth moving events. With this in mind, I hope you will realize that our actions are louder than our very lives. Our actions will proceed past us well after we are dead and with the Lord. Thus like Noah and Shem, we need to be laser focused on keeping God’s Word in our lives relevant and applicable. Next week we will discuss why Christmas is huge to understanding Jesus’s Second coming!
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL