A layman's commentary on Matthew 24 verses 44 through 51. Be alert because you do not know the hour.

 Let's end this dive into Matthew 24.

Our last look into Matthew 24 gave us this:

“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. You realize that if a homeowner had known at what time of the night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake. He would not have let the thief break into his house. Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.”
Matthew 24:42-44 GW

In addition to not being deceived, Jesus asks us to be alert and stay awake – not literally. Still, it certainly conveys the idea that those of us who trust in Jesus' word are to pay attention to the signs we are NOW experiencing.

"Who is the faithful and sensible servant whose master puts him in charge of the household staff, to give them their food at the proper time?”
Matthew 24:45 CJB

Referring to you as a servant would almost be insulting, but Jesus did. I have a question.

Do servants have an option to question the master's commands?

Not unless they have an extraordinary relationship with the master, but even then, they probably know that there is a line that should never be crossed. Well, if Jesus is calling us servants, then perhaps we should pay attention and be alert.

Who is Jesus referring to when He speaks of servants who have been put in charge of the household staff to give them their food at the proper time?

Since the subject matter is the Jewish people and their culture, then would it surprise you if I told you that He is talking about the religious leadership of Israel.

Can I apply this to myself?

I am and you would be wise to quickly do the same.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary indicates that this is a test and implies that even the care of the earth has been under our influence. I would say that our corporate leaders have failed miserably as we sought the almighty dollar to excesses. It sounds like we are under the law, and to a degree, we are, for the law was the only reasonable substitute since the earth, through Adam, fell under the curse.

The response to the question, “who is the faithful and sensible servant,” comes in verse 46.

“It will go well with that servant if he is found doing his job when his master comes.” Matthew 24:46 CJB

This speaks about God's judgment, the seven years of wrath that will be poured out upon:

1. The nations – this includes all who reject Jesus, the Messiah.

2. The Jewish leadership: for teaching others to reject Yeshua, for rejecting the Messiah, who is spelled out explicitly in the Torah, and all while tormenting those who would accept Jesus as the Messiah.

3. And He is going to pour out His wrath upon those who have killed the people and destroyed the earth in their quest for wealth.

What is our job?

Preach the good news whenever possible and wait eagerly for His return.

A parable, titled by the modern translators, reads like this.

“You Must Be Ready”

Luke 12:35 CJB "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit,”

Verse 35 should have a familiar ring to it.

It sounds like our Lord pulled aspects from “The Parable of the Ten Virgins,” which we find in Matthew 25:1-13. All of them took oil lamps, while half took additional oil in case the night went longer than expected. Those who did not bring extra oil became arrogant and demanding when their lamps ran out. (Keep in mind that they had the same opportunity to prepare.) Sounds like half of them just weren't all that interested.

If you are stumbling because of the parable of the ten virgins, then you should know I was accosted by a brother at church, who publicly challenged me as to why I was advocating for Jesus' soon return. He said, we have been looking for Jesus for over two thousand years, and He hasn't come back; He is NOT coming back any time soon, so stop already.

Luke 12:36 CJB “like people waiting for their master's return after a wedding feast; so that when he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him without delay.

Matthew 22 speaks of those gathered from the Gentiles.

"Then he *said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 'Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.' "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.”
Matthew 22:8-10 NASB

Let's look at this portion of the paragraph for a moment.

“ but those who were invited were not worthy.”

Initially, who were the invited?

Israel, or better stated, the descendants of Abraham.

The word “worthy” is the Hebrew word áxios. According to Mounce's dictionary, it means worthy of or deserving, either good or evil. Initially, God declared Abraham and his descendants áxios, or worthy of good (or evil, which we see in Deuteronomy 28 – the blessings and cursings if you do not follow after God).

Interesting how the slaves, doing what the master said, found in the streets both evil and good, and with these people, they filled the wedding hall with dinner guests. In general. Here is a touch of sarcasm. It does not take long to notice that this group included worthy people like Caleb (he was not a descendant of Jacob and, therefore, a Gentile.)

Aren't you glad God found us.

But Matthew 22:11 gives us a piece of perplexing information.

"But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he *said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.”
Matthew 22:11-12 NASB

Seeing as we have an overabundance of homeless living on our streets, you would be hard-pressed to find any with “wedding clothes.”

Finis Jennings Dake conveys this. 

“The poorer classes would not have festive apparel, and they were therefore provided for by the king from his own extensive wardrobe. This is one of the most interesting details of the parable. It was a special mark of honor to receive a garment which had been used by royalty, and kings sometimes showed their liberality by giving freely to others whom they sought to honor.”

Dr. J Vernon McGee states.

That wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, which is absolutely essential for salvation, and it is supplied to all who believe.

We see the believers clothed in white.

“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Revelation 3:5 NASB

Once we reach chapter four of Revelation, the church is not discussed, yet there is this peculiar reference.

“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”
Revelation 4:4 NASB

Could it also be that these, clothed in white garments, represent the church?

The logical answer is yes because there are many other references to the white garments and the bride, which is us, the church.

And we can know what being ready looks like.

“The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!” Luke 12:37 NLT

Ready and waiting anxiously for his return.

What happens to those who are doing their job?

"Truly I say to you that He (Jesus) will put him(the servant that does what He asks) in charge of all his possessions.”
Matthew 24:47 NASB

Paul's letter to the church in Corinth speaks to this very thing.

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 NASB

Here, we will be rewarded by Christ. Jesus ended this portion of His talk like this.

''But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:48-51 NASB

Consider this excerpt.

“the master of that slave will come on a day when he (the evil slave) does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites.”

I always hear this; no man knows the day or the hour. I suppose the implication is that you should wait anxiously for Him, but that is not the end of the story.

Paul said we are not in the darkness that we should not know, and Paul states that it is for us to know.

Paul, having taught the Church body in Thessaloniki that Christ is going to come back for His bride, the Church, but somebody came afterward and frightened them into believing that they had missed the rapture, the catching away of the church. (The Greek word for rapture is harpazo, and the Latin is rapio. Nonetheless, he is coming back. Since the collective signs are happening around us rapidly, it behooves us to look for Jesus.)

So, “that slave” who does not expect Him will be in the dark about the timing and return of our Lord.

A few paragraphs earlier, I talked about the brother in Christ who berated me for encouraging people to look longingly for Jesus. I know this brother, and he leans toward legalism, but I think it is necessary for him to keep his life in order. I lived my life under a constrained religious legalism, and no, thank you, that is not for me. It was for freedom that Christ has set me free, and I will not allow anyone to try to put me back into that bondage.

Does living in freedom condemn me to hell?

One brother in Christ likes to think so, and he creates rules in his head that those outside of his head have to live by. He will tell you that everyone who does not accept Jesus NOW will have NO chance to accept Him after the Church leaves this earth.

Is that true?

The answer is an emphatic NO, as the Holy Spirit will still be on earth, drawing as many to Jesus as will come.

Is it true that grace will indeed be gone? What that means to those who come to Christ during the seven years of wrath is that you will have to prove your allegiance to Christ by losing your life for your testimony, but not to worry, Jesus will be there to escort you into eternity.

Did you know that I learned how to sin as a Christian?

Yes, thinking too long on that thought will get my head spinning. All I know and now lean on is I am so glad that God found me and sought me out.

A warning against worldliness. James 4:1-13.

We ended James chapter three with an admonition to walk in wisdom instead of letting our tongues destroy us, and those around us. This wisdom, as James states, is from above and looks like this when it shows up: it is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. If this body in Christ could have lived in this manner, there would be no need to address wars and quarreling within the body of Christ, but it is not just within the body of Christ, it is our everyday lives.

Writing to a mixed body of believers, primarily Jewish, James has a need to address the quarreling and bickering he has learned about. Eugene Peterson's Message says it best.

Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from?
Do you think they just happen? Think again.
They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves.
James 4:1 MSG 

Doesn't that seem odd that James would have to address their bickering as wars and quarrels?

He then says, in case you had not figured it out yet, these boisterous battles are happening because you want your own way, and you, from your gut, are willing to fight for what you want.

I want to show you the shameful version and then one that is less harsh.

You lust and do not have; so you commit murder.
You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have because you do not ask.
James 4:2 NASB

Almost all of us lust for what we do not have, but few of us commit murder to get it. What is going on here? Perhaps they have not come to murder as yet. Since the context of the verse has to do with envy and the inability to fulfill lusts, would God have us clamoring with Him, in an effort to get Him to satisfy our lusts? Surely, most of us, have at some point asked God to fulfill our desires. In my case, I got what I wanted. I later came to understand that my lust was not what I needed.

You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. James 4:2 GNB 

So if we have considered it, we have done it, right? Well, that is the picture Jesus painted when He said,

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28 NIV 

I don't see these people asking for anything, I do though, see them bickering and demanding. Wars do not just happen on battlefields.

I might like to think that James just shifted the focus.

James 4:3 NASB You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Ah, there is the answer, they are asking God to satisfy their stupid cravings.

“You ask” is the Greek word aiteo and means to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.

“and do not receive,” Greek lambanō meaning to take in whatever manner.

James 4:2,3 from the Message Bible, tells us: “You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way.”

“because you ask with wrong motives,” Gk, kakos, kakos - sick, sore, amiss, diseased, evil, badly (physically or morally), wrongly.

“so” Gk, hina - in order

“that you may spend” Gk, dapanao - 1) to incur an expense, expend, spend; 2) in a bad sense: to waste, squander, consume

“it on your pleasures.” Gk, hedone - (to please); sensual delight; by implication desire: - lust, pleasure. This is the same word from which we derive hedonism; which is, the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence. Synonyms: self-indulgence, pleasure-seeking, self-gratification. More it is the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.

James 4:4 NASB You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

That seems harsh. Let's look at the Greek dictionary and see what they say.

moichalís; gen. moichalídos, fem. noun. An adulteress (Rom_7:3; 2Pe_2:14, "eyes full of adultery," meaning gazing with desire after such persons. See Sept.: Eze_16:38; Eze_23:45). Used figuratively to indicate one who is unfaithful toward God as an adulteress is unfaithful toward her husband (This can apply to wives as well.) In the Greek OT it is spoken mainly of those who forsook God for idols (Isa_57:3, Isa_57:7; Ezek. 16, 23; Hos_3:1). In the NT, the word is generally used of those who neglect God and their duty toward Him and yield themselves to their own lusts and passions (Mat_12:39; Mat_16:4; Mar_8:38.
In James_4:4 the word moichalís stands as a characteristic of infidelity, faithless, or idolatrous).

Having been cheated on by a wife, this passage takes on a depth that most will not understand. After my first wife had her first blatant infidelity I struggled to trust her words and actions. The relationship was never right, as we never truly communicated. Later, she told me that her dad had asked her, as she was walking down the aisle to give her “vows”, “do you really want to do this?” Is this not a picture of how many of us are with the Father?

And in Zechariah 1:14 NASB we can understand that God is “exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.” All this makes me think of Oprah Winfrey. She said, when she learned that God was jealous, she perceived that God was jealous of her, this understanding put them in conflict. She said she would not tolerate such a sick relationship and walked away from God. Consider that she is heavily involved in the plans for globalism and the New World Order, which includes the murder of babies under the guise of health issues.

Look at this verse once again.

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 NASB

How quickly we turn our backs on God. I can't imagine anybody not having some longing. For me, it was a 24-foot inshore fishing boat. This then evokes some questions: Does God hate me for admiring the fishing boat? Is there anything I can do? Where does one get a camel hair coat so that they can look like John the Baptist?

Enemy, BTW, is echthros and means to hate; hateful (passively odious, or actively hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary.

Never stop until you get the full context, and that brings us to James 4:5.

James 4:5 Williams  Or, do you think that the Scripture means nothing when it says, "He jealously yearns for the Spirit that He causes to dwell in your hearts"?

There it is, He is madly passionate about that Spirit that He has caused to dwell in our hearts.

Why? That Spirit is a part of Him, no less than the Son is a part of Him. Genesis 2:7 tells us that God breathed His own spirit into the man; and in Zechariah 12:1 we learn that the Lord formed the spirit with us. No wonder God is jealous for us, for we too are a part of Him, which He lost through Adam's treason, and regained through Jesus Christ's actions on the cross. The only problem is that He gave us the choice to return to Him. We can voluntarily return to Him by receiving Him once again.

So here I am struggling to understand what God wants from me, knowing full well that I am messed up, although I seem to be getting better at following His voice and staying out of trouble. And He knows all that.

What does James 4:6 have to say about this? While most translations say, He gives more grace, look at how the CEV translation puts it.

James 4:6 CEV  In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say, "God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble."

Knowing that we are messed up, God treats us with greater kindness.

Notice how it says, “God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble.” Have you given much thought to what it means to be humble? My mother thought it meant to dress and rags, not wash much, and be proud of it. There is something horribly twisted in this logic; and, it has the idea of pride mixed, as though that whole John the Baptist look makes you Holy – it does not.

In trying to grasp this humble thing, I have learned that Moses was the most humble man on the earth; really? Yes, the baby in the grass basket maneuver, was surely humbling, but maybe, in his case, it was just too cute and therefore gained Moses access to Pharaoh's palace, where he had the finest education of his day. We fail to remember that Moses was nursed by his real mother until it became ridiculous. During that time she told him who he was. How and why he remembered any of that information is beyond belief. If anything, being raised in Pharaoh's court would have made him prideful; and, if you know the story, Moses, having learned what his true heritage was – hated sheep farmers who seemed to have God's calling upon their lives, rises up and slays an Egyptian man. In his pride, He thought that he would be, at least, one man's redeemer; but that did not work out so well and he had to flee for his life. For the next forty years, in the desert, he tends sheep – one of the most hated things in Egypt. The Pharaoh who wanted him dead is now dead himself, and so God sends Moses back to Egypt, with this message – Let my people go!

What then caused him to gain this humble status?

After becoming the leader of God's people, he was overwhelmed by the daily issues and threatened several times, one of those threats came from his own brother and sister. In the face of ugly situations, we find that Moses turned to God. This turning to God became a pattern for him, and it demonstrated that he knew where the power and answers truly lay.

So what does it mean when God opposes us?

From the Greek Antitassomai to range oneself against, that is, oppose: - oppose themselves, resist.

The first thing I want to look at is this idea of God setting himself in opposition.

The definition of oppose also includes the idea of being a counterbalance. So, while we may sit there scratching our heads, wondering why God is against us when we should be asking, what is God trying to teach me.

James 4:6, in the NASB, tells us that God gives more grace. Consider what we know so far.

• We are messed up, although many of us think we have got this living large stuff down pat.
• In spite of our being messed, and because we have accepted Christ into our lives, God has placed His Holy Spirit inside of us. If you only knew the treasure that lives inside of you. And, God is exceedingly jealous over that Spirit; that means He is jealous over you and will go out of His way to protect and cover you.
• And, as you can see from the NASB, that God, knowing who we are, just pours out more grace.

It is difficult to comprehend at times, but He loves us. The proof we have of that is that He was willing to allow His Son to experience the gore of the cross so that He could open the door for us, to come flooding back to Him.

In our efforts to be real, we can't ignore the negative side of James 4:6.

"GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."

Try searching for this sentence and you will only find it in two places, James 4:6 and 1Peter 5:5. I can assure you that James would not have quoted Peter's words. Everyone that references an Old Testament passage refers you to Proverbs 3:34. Because it makes more sense and holds to the context, I will show you the Good News Bible version. Besides that, none of them precisely match those words.

“He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.“

One definition of the word conceited explains the word like this: “Entertaining a flattering opinion of one's self; having a vain or too high conception of one's own person or accomplishments.”

Just remember, everything in this world is at odds with God's ways and plans. Pursuing them will make you God's enemy.

Does this sound like a setup for failure?

It is not. God knows what became of us, that is why He sent His Son, and in so doing He poured out His grace upon all who would accept it. How can an assured hope of an eternity with the Father that loved you, be a failure?

In light of that grace, James tells us to,

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:7-8 NASB

If you get involved with recovery, you learn quickly that bold, blatant, honesty brings about the most healing. No, don't go blabbing everything in front of strangers, but in time, you will have to spill your guts to a trusted person. This is the direction James goes next.

James 4:9-10 NLT  Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.  (10)  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

In other words, own the damage that you have done, even if it is idolatrous living. You know, that stuff you put before God. When you are done, (in recovery it is usually your sponsor who tells you when you can graduate,) humble yourself before the Lord.

What did we learn from Moses?

To throw everything before God. He has grace waiting there for you.

Lastly, knock off the judging. You are certainly no better than anyone else. This is an important message that the world currently is refusing to hear.

Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.
If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.
But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.
God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge.
He alone has the power to save or to destroy.
So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
(James 4:11-12 NLT)

Maybe God is trying to tell us something? A prophetic word from 2007.

On September 9, 2007, I sat down to write in my journal. It is something that I did sporadically. I often wish I journaled on a regular basis because looking back shows me things that: are still important, and, how far I have come.

In 2007 God had been speaking to me quietly, and I could not get comfortable enough to give this word to the body. I am going to try it now.

“Why do my people think I have to speak to them as though they were Ken and Barbie dolls, living in a cute, perfect world.

I am going to disrupt their lives just as I disrupted Israels.

My entire purpose and intent is meant to drive you to me, for I am a jealous God, and I desire your attention.

I, like a child playing with dolls, am going to mess up your environment.

I wish for your heart, but all you have given me is your hand, so now I will get your attention.

Know that my desire is to commune with you in intimate fellowship. A fellowship that causes you to hear my voice and walk in the paths that I choose.

But you say, God does not talk to me, for I am.

You ask: What about my condition?; my age? Or, my position in life?. Many will say, I am broken.

What is that to me? I made you who you are, and I did it for my purpose. Keep in mind that if you were the only one, my desire would have been for you.”

When I read this today, all these years later, I was prompted in my spirit, to post this Word, as it still applies.

I might add, it occurs to me that this post has a correlation to the post I put up this morning entitled, The Act of Fixing my eyes on Jesus, based upon Hebrews 12:1-2.

Maybe God is trying to tell us something?

All your life...

I want to share some things with you that might explain where I have been for the last couple of weeks.

First I placed myself into the recovery program at my church. 

I am fairly sure I mentioned this before but it plays a significant role in how my time is spent, and how my life is changing for the better. It is called Celebrate Recovery. 

While many of the people there have issues with alcohol and drugs that is not my problem. My problem is: we have an enemy that takes pleasure in stealing, killing and destroying anything that looks like God, and since we accepted Christ into our lives and have been formed into his image we are even larger targets. I have battled with abuses, frustrations, depression, fear, self-esteem issues, and the desire to hide from it all, all my life. I imagine many of you have had comparable or worse issues and possibly handled them better than me. I reacted in rage. I believe the rage came as a result of what felt like helplessness and inadequacies. 

It has been just a little over a month now, working through a 12 step program, and I am finding that there is a joy in me that has not left me, even through the stress, for days now.

I am choosing to walk each day in joy. I am not going to lie to you, I have had my rough moments, but at the end of the day the joy is still there. I am sure that a deep understanding that Jesus Christ is the higher power and making the decision to relinquish control of trying to fix my life (trying to fix myself has not succeeded for 48 of my 60 years on this earth) and turn my life over to Jesus Christ played huge and significant roles. What a relief!

CR has forced me to adapt my schedule and that creates some new challenges for me when it comes to writing for posts. 

One of the aspects of CR, that I happen to find the most freeing, is that when we break into small groups there are guidelines that are enforced. These guidelines are meant to create a safe environment and allow everyone a chance to speak. Imagine if all your life you have felt as though you did not have the freedom to express the anguish of your heart, or by the same token not able to convey the joy you have experienced. No one is allowed to interrupt unless you are stating that you have a clear intent of hurting yourself or others. Just being able to speak without interruption has made all the difference to me. 

When your self-esteem has been thoroughly trashed just the act of being given a voice is extremely healing. 

God cares about every aspect of you. 

He cares that you have not been able to express yourself. 

Your voice was given by God as a gift, and He desires that you share the freedom inside in with others.

I pray you find that voice inside of you and the freedom to use it.

Related articles

• 7.22.13 - Sin Looses It's Power At Death (leadingfamilydevotions.com)
• Holy Spirit. (bummyla.wordpress.com)
• 7.21.13 - Jesus Christ The Second Adam (leadingfamilydevotions.com)
• "Follow Me" (sammysnardfarkle.wordpress.com)
• A Life of Victories in Christ Jesus! (bummyla.wordpress.com)
• No Condemnation (devog.wordpress.com)

You have a good heart, maybe.

One of the things you come to understand in reading Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge, is that you have a good heart. That is of course is contingent upon your relationship with Jesus Christ. (I have a tendency to learn and change my opinion as I write. I think one of the reasons that I write is that I am working through things in my head and heart. The goal of course is to produce more and better fruit, kind of like pruning, for Orange trees only produce fruit on new growth and pruning is the best way to evoke that new growth.)

I believe that the context for the good heart comes from multiple sources Matthew 12:35 or Luke 6:43-45 and Genesis 1:31.

Genesis 1:31 NASB God saw all (that included man in his image) that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Luke 6:43-45 NASB "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. (44) "For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. (45) "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Luke 8:8 NASB "Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Luke 8:15 NASB "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Matthew 12:35 NASB "The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.

The English Revised version states it ­differently from all the others and yet makes a little more sense.

Matthew 12:35 ERV Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That's why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that's why they say things that are evil.

Notice the similar yet slightly different wording compared with Matthew's account. In both cases Jesus had refuted the Jews. In Matthews account he clearly called them vipers and I think it is safe to say that he fully intended to impress upon them that there was no good in them. (Keep an open mind about this no good part.)

In the nursery business you learn that some plants have to be protected from corrupting environments. Roses are particularly susceptible to nematodes, so they are grafted into a root-stock that is resistant to the nematodes and by itself does not produce the attractive flowers that people enjoy. Many plants and trees are like this, and make no other effort to do anything other than what their intended purpose is unless there is an outside influence.

In paralleling the heart to the good tree he is re-establishing that the heart was made good to begin with.

There is no denying that if God made the heart good there was a huge, over-arching change that took place, because we know through scripture that because of Adam's caving to temptation we all had to pay, and everyone is born in a broken condition.

Genesis 3:4-7 NASB The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! (5) "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (6) When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

Death, as you can imagine, came in so many forms that day. The heart changed and may have lost its innate goodness. It is an easy thing to say, their heart changed but I think it is wrong and removes their personal responsibility. God had already told them that the fruit contained knowledge of both good and evil. So really the knowledge of good is still embedded in the conflicted heart; Adam merely added evil to the mix.

As a side note: God blockaded man from accessing the tree of Life after this, why? Because had he not, some of the concepts we see in shows like Star Trek, where you run into someone who is eternal and blatantly evil. Outside of what imaginary portrayals give us, I suspect earth would have been a chaotic and deadly place to live; more so than what Genesis 6 shows us.

Genesis 6:1-8 NASB Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, (2) that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. (3) Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." (4) The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (5) Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (7) The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." (8) But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Allow me to fling something at you that might unwrap the events of Genesis 6.

If we take a passage, such as Genesis 1:5 NASB (God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.) and hang our hat on it, demanding that everyone bow to the six-day theory, then we ignore understanding and reason. The word day in the Hebrew is yom and expresses a time period. The concept of temporal, which is not expressed here, is measured or limited time, and God cannot be measured or limited, even science has proven that. Light bends and time has decelerated, just as Einstein suggested.

The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor 4.

So when we read of the events of Genesis we have no idea how long God allowed for things to transpire, only that the migration from one time frame to another was called a day, and it was good.

Add this into the mix.

Satan was thrown from heaven, Jesus told us that he witnessed this. But did his being thrown out exclude him access to God? No! Read the book of Job and you will see him action.

Job 1:6 NASB Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

(Keep this terminology in mind, it will come into play momentarily.)

Scripture tells us that he (Satan) is the accuser of the saints.

Revelation 12:10 NASB Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

This is a future event and not the one Jesus described earlier.

So Adam and Eve, given an undefined time frame, lived together in the garden, producing children. How do I know that? What did God say to her after the event that changed time to something temporal and defined?

Read it for yourself! -

Genesis 3:13-16 NASB Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (14) The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; (15) And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." (16) To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."

What an odd and incomprehensible statement to make to Eve unless she knew precisely what he was talking about, and she did. You do not hear her challenging God about his statement, as though she did not understand. She understood. To think that God operated differently with them suggests that they had no choice at all. It also suggests that their sexuality, an aspect that comes with these bodies we were given, was all tainted as well, and it was not.

 Given that they may have had a tremendous amount of time to explore each other prior to the fall, how many children did they produce? We do not know. If there were offspring from them prior to the fall, then those offspring had the same traits as the parents. (Think about trees again. The tree looks like the parent plant, including aspects of both.) What were their traits? We know that man was given dominion, and that alone made him Godlike. Adam communed with God and there is nothing to say that any offspring would not have followed the same path. We do know that there was no sin, as yet, and so nothing was tainted, until that day. On that day, death suddenly came upon everyone on the earth. Haven't you ever asked yourself, where did Cain get his wife? Or who were these people that he presumed would kill him? Why build a city if there is no one to live in it? And even God marked him to protect him, from who?

The book of Job places these Sons of God right along side Satan, in front of God, as Satan comes to accuse Job; doesn't that make them angels (perhaps fallen) as well. Why would God use the terminology if it meant something else? What if it implied, in Genesis 6, a race of Godlike people who are suddenly corrupted by sin, and yet still had the remembrances of their creative and Godlike abilities; abilities that we were designed, not to dominate men but “wilds” around them. Satan the corrupter would have quickly turned those Godlike qualities to evil, and that is exactly what we see in Genesis 6.

(I will not exclude the potential of angels inbreeding with the daughters of men but I struggle to find the clear definition in scripture. What I can see is my theory, deeply ensconced in scripture. - This concept of angels intermingling with men is spoken of by Dr. Chuck Misler, but I have not given it enough time to judge what he teaches so I stick with what I understand.)

Even with the flicker of good in his heart man only thought about the evil thing to do.

Genesis 1:31 NASB God saw all (that included man in his image) that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The loss of everyone and thing that you considered family, gone, stripped out of your hands.

Now the real plan begins.

Out of this mess one man stood out, Noah, and he found favor with the Lord. Did anyone else notice that it was not his wife or his children that got noticed, and yet they found favor also because Noah was the spiritual head. I never thought about this, in this way, before.

Let's jump back a minute. Luke 6:43-45 NASB "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit...” God created the tree (man) and he made it good. He also gave man the ability to choose which path he wanted to follow. If Satan came only to steal, kill and destroy, and man follows that path, then who is man following? Satan, a fallen, condemned angel. So then the good tree, without being grafted in, gets planted in soil that is now filled with nematodes, or at the least things that are harmful to it, and though the tree and its functions have not changed it can do nothing other than produce bad fruit.

Paul spoke of us being grafted in -

Romans 11:16-19 NASB If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. (17) But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, (18) do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. (19) You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."

The concept of the first piece, though in this case directed at Israel, also implies the creation, and certainly the first was holy. God was able to make the branches, Israel, holy through sacrifice and guidance, but God chose to graft us in too. The word indicating first in Greek is aparche and is a compound word, meaning: a beginning of sacrifice. Adam was the first, and he was perfect. His selfish actions infected the roots and we had to be grafted back into a non-infested rootstock, Jesus Christ. Because Jesus paid the price that Adam's treason demanded the only thing left is for us to accept Jesus Christ as our sacrifice and believe in him who raised Jesus from the dead. That means there is a God and the hope of a life with him is real. Surrounded by a sea of bad soil and nematodes waiting to corrupt the nature of our tree it is easy to become discouraged and not believe (bad fruit.)

If God created everything, and he did, then is it fair to say that the skilled nurseryman created it all perfect?

Is it fair to say that the cactus does not serve some purpose, display some beauty, and is perfect for its environment?

If God created all things perfect then he is capable of grafting you into the sound tree. A tree that is willing and ready to accept you and make you useful once again.

A heads up:

In the nursery business we took second year growth limbs. These were about the thickness of a pencil. After cutting and in a sense bruising the wood of the good stock we aligned the growth layers, the Cambium layer, of the stock plant and the plant that we are either trying to salvage or multiply. Why? Because the fruit that it produces is desirable and we know it has potential.

Are you beginning to understand that Christ did this for you, and that you are a plant worth salvaging and multiplying because you are worth it.

You are worth it.

If there been only you, you would have been worth it.