Mon.’s Devo - God’s Unfailing Promises

Read: Genesis 13:5-15:21; Matthew 5:27-48; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 1:29-30
God had blessed Abram and Lot so much that they had to split to find pasture for their huge flocks. Abram gave Lot first choice and he chose the most fertile grass with established cities in it. Abram went the opposite way but not before God told him that all the land he could see would one day be his.
Lot went to live in Sodom while Abram lived off the land.
Four of the kings from Babylon went to war with five of the kings including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. All nine kings were enemies of God and evil nations. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled with their army while their cities were plundered and their people taken. One man escaped and brought word to Abram. Abram took 318 of his warriors to fight them and recovered everything. Abram was met by Melchizedek, the King of Salem and God’s High Priest. Together they had communion. Afterwards, Melchizedek blessed Abram and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. He was also met by the king of Sodom who tried to repay Abram for what he had done but Abram wouldn’t take anything from him.
God came to Abram in a vision and told him that He was his great reward. Abram couldn’t imagine a reward being worth much without an heir to pass it to. He asked God about that and God told him to look up at the stars because that was how numerous his offspring was going to be one day. Abram wanted proof so God told him to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a young pigeon. He was to cut the animals in half and lay them opposite each other. All day, Abram had to shoo the fowls from trying to eat his meat. That night he fell into a deep and frightful sleep where God spoke to him and told him that he and his people would be a stranger in the land and afflicted for 400 years. They would come out of that foreign land with much plunder.
A smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between the pieces and God made a covenant with Abram that he had given him the land from the Nile River to the Euphrates and all the nine tribes living in the land. This was Abram’s proof.
In Matthew, Jesus is teaching the spiritual lesson to the Ten Commandments. Yesterday he dealt with the commandment. to honor their father and mother. Only Jesus explained that the mother and father he was referring to was the law and the prophets. Then, he dealt with the commandment not to kill. He explained that murder was in their speech. Life and death are in the power of the tongue; we murder with words.
Today, he dealt with the commandment about adultery and explained that adultery is a heart attitude. Marriage is about covenant. To divorce is to break a covenant. If you divorce you are breaking a covenant and you have to make it legal.
He also dealt with bearing false witness against your neighbor. If you make an oath before God, you are to keep it.
Next he dealt with what to do if someone steals from you. You are to give them what they want and more. Then you are to love and forgive them. None of this is easy and it goes against our natural instincts; it takes God’s grace to be able to do any of this.
Lord, give us your abundant grace that we might live in your love and forgiveness. Help us to remember that you never lie and what you promise, you will do.