January 7 ▪ Day 7

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 3:9–10
Genesis 13–14
Matthew 7
Psalms 7

Verse Focus (Proverbs 3:9–10)

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth,
     with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
     and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Meditation

Our verse focus today, Proverbs 3:9–10, talks about the importance of honoring God with your money and introduces a principle that if you give to God, God will give back to you by blessing your harvests. I said “money,” but wealth is more accurate. And wealth is not just financial. Do you have skills and abilities that God has given you? Do you think to donate some of your time to use these skills for God’s purposes?

Pay attention to the word “firstfruits” in verse 9 — this is crucially important. The firstfruits are literally the first fruit and crops to ripen for harvest. When Cain made an offering to God in Genesis 4, he gave “some” of the produce of the land, but did not give from his firstfruits. As you recall, this offering did not please God; Abel, however, pleased God by offering the “firstlings” and “fat portions” of his flock.

Very few of us live in an agrarian society today, so understanding how these verses apply to us now does take some consideration (and prayer). Most interpret “firstfruits” as giving to the LORD before you pay any other bills or obligations. But this is a somewhat legalistic interpretation. I think God cares far more about where your heart is in giving than He cares about whatever rules you might follow to honor Him. We give to God because of who He is, and who He is to us.

I’ve been mulling over the question today as to whether or not God wants your wealth at all if you are not willing to offer Him the firstfruits. It’s not like God needs your money. On the other hand, the Old Testament abounds with criticisms of the Israelites for failing to tithe. And considering how sinful we all are, it’s highly likely that there will be times when we may not be cheerful givers. Personally, I want to give even when I don’t feel generous because I think the obedience in itself can help transform my heart. But this is something that you should discuss with God in prayer. He is well able to make it clear to you what you should do.

In Genesis 13, Abram has returned to the land of Canaan after their little adventure in Egypt. Now Abram came out of Egypt as a very wealthy man. His nephew Lot also had many “flocks and herds and tents.” Their combined wealth was so great that “the land could not sustain them.” So they agreed to put some distance between each other and they parted ways. Lot chose the valley of Jordan and ended up settling near Sodom. Abram, in turn, settled in Canaan near Hebron.

Perhaps I’m reading into the text, but it seemed to me that Lot chose the “better” portion and went in the direction that seemed more fruitful and prosperous. And this tells us something about both men since Abram freely offered Lot the first choice. After they parted, the LORD again appears to Abram and promises him that his descendants will own all the land as far as he can see in any direction. Further, the LORD promises that Abram’s descendants will be as numerous and as impossible to count as the “dust” of the earth. The timing of God’s visit — just after Lot has left — seems very compassionate considering that Abram and Lot were more like father and son than uncle and nephew.

Genesis chapter 14 can be very confusing to read. So many different names of kings and places that are unfamiliar! It’s hard to understand what’s going on. So let’s just omit the names for a moment. We have four kings against five kings. The four kings are from the north and east — two of the kings rule areas that are later known as Assyria and Babylonia (Shinar). These four kingdoms are significantly larger than those of the five kings, who most scholars believe ruled cities clustered near the Dead Sea. So one of the four kings (Chedorlaomer) had ruled over quite a number of kingdoms, and the five kings had tried to break away from that rule. The king of Sodom was one of the rebellious kings. So Chedorlaomer gathered three of his allies and then the four kings come to squash those five kings, reestablishing Chedorlaomer’s rule. So there’s a battle, and the five kings lose. The king of Sodom is able to flee, but the goods and food supply of Sodom and Gomorrah are taken away by the four kings. Lot is also taken away since he had settled near Sodom.

Enter Abram. He musters up his own men and a few allies and he goes to confront the four kings, chasing them way north. Amazingly, Abram and his allies defeat the four kings and Lot is rescued. After this victory, Melchizedek, king of Salem, enters the story. Note that Melchizedek was not one of the kings involved in any of the earlier conflicts. Melchizedek is said to be a priest of God Most High. He serves bread and wine and he blesses Abram. And Abram gives a tenth of all he has to Melchizedek. (Hmmm, the subject of tithing comes up for a second time today… is the Holy Spirit pricking you on this topic?)

We know from the book of Hebrews that this whole interaction between Abram and Melchizedek is very significant. Melchizedek is both a priest and king and he rules over Salem (which means “peace”). Although there is not 100% agreement on this, many scholars believe that Salem is the same place that later became known as Jerusalem.

Finally, the chapter wraps up with a little interaction between Abram and the king of Sodom. The king of Sodom tells Abram to keep all the goods: just return the people who have been rescued. But Abram refuses to do this. He does not ever want it said that the king of Sodom made him rich. Abram’s allies can take some of the plunder, but Abram will not. Since we learned in the previous chapter how extremely wicked the men of Sodom were, I assume this is the major reason why Abram does not want to have any of Sodom’s wealth in his hands. (A more modern parallel might be taking money from a drug lord.) This is particularly interesting in terms of what the Scripture has to teach us about wealth in this chapter — we have the principle of tithing in thanksgiving and the practice of avoiding any business association with the wicked.

In Matthew chapter 7 we have the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. There is so much packed into this one chapter! Jesus warns against judging other people, noting how prone we are to hypocrisy. There’s a cryptic remark about not throwing your pearls before swine and then Jesus commands us to ask, seek, and knock, noting that our Father in heaven will give what is good to those who seek him. We have the “golden rule” — do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Jesus warns us that the path to destruction is much easier than the path to life. He warns against false prophets, telling us that we will be able to recognize the difference between true and false prophets if we look at the fruit they produce. In a disturbing set of examples, however, we learn that prophecy, casting out demons, or working miracles are not in of themselves fruit that testifies to the righteousness of the person performing these actions. Jesus finally concludes his sermon by telling us that those who obey Christ’s commands are the ones who are building a life with a sure foundation.

As you read Matthew chapter 7, I’m sure the Holy Spirit will highlight something to you. Listen for that. Pause to meditate and pray a bit on whatever the Spirit shows you.

I will only say one other thing about this chapter today. This is something that I was taught many, many, many years ago — and I’ve never forgotten it. It’s about the Greek verb tense in the verse where Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock. Our English language doesn’t have a tense that is quite comparable to this verb tense. The best way I can describe it is to say that it is a tense of continuous action. A better translation might say “Ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.” Think about this for a moment and let it evermore transform the way you read this verse and apply it to your life. Ask and keep on asking.

Psalm 7 is described as what David “sang” to the LORD concerning “Cush, a Benjamite.” There is no Biblical story about Cush the Benjamite, so we can’t place this story to a specific incident. Some think this person is a relative of King Saul; others believe that it is a veiled reference to King Saul himself (with a bit of an ethnic slur thrown in). For our purposes, it doesn’t really matter. It is clear that Cush is an enemy of David and David is praying for help and deliverance. David’s anguish is made all the more acute because he has not done anything to deserve the enmity and pursuit.

I have never been in war or battle or surrounded by enemies who want to kill me. Not literally. But metaphorically we have enemies — troubled circumstances, spiteful classmates or co-workers, situations where we are under pressure and threat. So we can identify with David. We also take refuge in the LORD. He is God Most High. He is righteous. He is our shield. And because of this, we, too, can give thanks to the LORD for His righteousness and sing praises to His name.

Father God, I thank you because you are righteous and holy and good. I’m so grateful that you sent Jesus to be our intercessor, a priest “in the order of Melchizedek.” Thank you that you are my shield. Thank you that I can always run to you for refuge. I pray that you will work in my heart so that I will honor you with the wealth that you have given me. I pray that I will learn to always put you first. Thank you for this day and for all the blessings to come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.