Josh Benner

Category: Christian living

  • Genealogies upon genealogies. Studying Genesis 5

    Genealogies upon genealogies. Studying Genesis 5

    In Genesis 5, we see a genealogy leading from Adam to Noah. 

    This genealogy had been touched on in Genesis 4 in the aftermath of Adam’s son Cain murdering his brother Abel. In the shadow of that sin, we’re introduced to another son of Adam named Seth. He will continue the family line. 

    There are a number of genealogies in the Bible. We often skim through them without always knowing the names. But they’re important for several reasons. 

    Why genealogies are important in the Bible

    1. Genealogies provide a link to Jesus. 

    In the aftermath of the fall, God promised Adam and Eve a future offspring who would one day crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Throughout Genesis and numerous other books of the Old Testament, we see the continuation of the line which would ultimately lead to Christ. 

    Fittingly, the New Testament begins with a genealogy. 

    1. Genealogies would matter for certain Israelite ministries 

    During the period of the 12 tribes of Israel, genealogy mattered for the priesthood. Not anyone could be a priest. Someone had to be from the tribe of Levi. And to be the high priest, someone had to be from the line of Aaron in the line of Levi. 

    1. Genealogies are a reminder of God’s faithfulness to his promises. 
    2. Genealogies are a reminder of God’s providence and sovereignty. For many generations, we see God at work in achieving his purposes 
    3. Genealogies point to the Bible being a historical book. People might like to treat Biblical stories like fairy tales but that’s not how the Bible itself presents them. 
    4. Genealogies are a reminder that individuals matter to God and that they matter in God’s story. 

    Creation revisited 

    Genesis 5:1-2 says: 

    This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

    Genesis 5 begins by pointing back to creation. 

    When the text says this is the book of the generations, that is a literary device in Genesis used to begin new sections of the story. 

    Even though there is now sin in the world, it still remains true that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. 

    Genesis next points to the continuation of Adam’s line. Instead of continuing the line through the infamous Cain, the line continues through Adam and Eve’s son Seth. 

    Genesis 5:3-5: 

    3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. 

    Genesis 5 traces ten generations from Adam to Noah. 

    All of the generations include very long lifespans. Genesis 5 says that Adam lived 930 years, Jared lived 962 years (v. 20), Methuselah lived 969 years (v. 27). 

    How long is a year? 

    Many have been puzzled by the long lifespans in Genesis which are incredibly long compared to normal lifespans today. 

    Some have questioned if the lifespans could actually be dynastic spans rather than an individual lifespan. For instance, the argument goes that Jared didn’t personally live 962 years but that Jared and the next several generations of his children totaled 962 years. 

    It is true that ancient genealogies are not always exhaustive. 

    But a problem with this view is that there are Biblical figures who live long lives (Abraham, Moses, etc) and where numerous events from their lives are recorded along with their ages in those years. Are the lifespans of Abraham and Moses literal while other ages given for other Old Testament figures are dynastic? That seems like a difficult argument to support from the text. 

    Some have tried to make arguments that a year isn’t a year. Maybe a year in one of these lifespans is actually a month. But the problem with this is that some of the father’s  have kids in their 70s, which would mean they were 6-7 years old! 

    Some have argued that the year figures are symbolic. This again becomes challenging because there is no apparent symbolism of oddly specific numbers and overlooks the simpler conclusion that the years are presented as literal. 

    It’s certainly a stretch for modern readers, but the most faithful reading of the Biblical text is that the given lifespans are meant to be taken at face value. 

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  • The broken person and the Mission of God. Studying John 4:27-29

    The broken person and the Mission of God. Studying John 4:27-29

    An unlikely missionary 

    At the beginning of John 4,  Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well. The Samaritans were a minority ethnic group who were half-Jewish. In the first century, there was a lot of animosity between the Samaritans and the Jewish people. Samaritans had some theological differences and given their ethnic differences, these fueled the division between the two groups. 

    The Samaritan woman meets Jesus at a well and they start to talk. 

    The woman has had five husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband. So she’s already part of a group who’s looked down upon, and she’s also had her sins exposed. Jesus tells her of the living water that he provides. He tells her of true worship of God. 

    As the preceding section winds down, John records Jesus speaking to the woman. 

    24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” 

    An incredible conversation. 

    Verse 27 suddenly changes the direction. 

    Just then.

    Just then his disciples came back.

    Earlier in the story, we learned that the disciples had left Jesus to go and find food. It’s the reason why Jesus had been alone when he met the Samaritan woman. 

    They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”

    The disciples want to question Jesus for talking to this woman. Out of respect for Jesus, they keep their mouths shut but they’re wondering “why are you talking with her?” 

    The disciples are not perfect. We see this time and again in the gospels. 

    We see examples of their pride, at times we see them lack faith, and we see here that they are not above prejudice. And they see Jesus talking with this woman. They don’t question it, but they’re thinking about it. 

    Probably giving her strange looks. 

    It was the culture at the time. There was a lot of prejudice against women. 

    There are rabbinic sayings which go back to the first century and talk of interactions between men and women. Some of these sayings are extremely misogynistic towards women. 

    There’s a rabinnic teaching against a man even talking to a woman in public, even his own wife. 

    There were rabinnic teachings which discouraged teaching women to read. 

    I’m not saying that those views were universal to every Jewish person in the first century. But they were within the social consciousness. Every generation has its own areas of sin, and misogyny was a common area of sin in the first century and sadly at many other times. 

    But the Samaritan woman, like everyone else, needs Jesus. She needs to know his love, needs to know his grace. 

    So the disciples didn’t publicly question Jesus, but not because they didn’t want to. 

    The text says that they marveled that Jesus was talking to a woman. Let alone a Samaritan woman. 

    John 4:28:

    So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 

    John notes that the woman leaves her jar. It’s interesting that this detail is mentioned. 

    Throughout our study of John’s gospel, we’ve seen this theme of newness, new creation, Jesus as replacing the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. 

    I believe that the detail of her leaving the water jar is mentioned because it’s symbolic of the fact that this woman is leaving behind the cares and concerns of her own nourishment to serve the purposes of Christ in the world. 

    She had come to the well for water, but she’s leaving it having learned about the living water which Jesus provides. 

    So we have this Samaritan woman, who’s had five husbands and who’s living with a man who’s not her husband, someone looked down upon in society, she goes into the town and starts telling people about Jesus. 

    Verse 29: 

    “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

    Jesus has revealed himself to be a prophetic figure who has a knowledge of her life that’s supernatural. He’s claimed to be the Christ, and so she rhetorically asks the people “can this be the Christ?”

    It’s very powerful to consider that this woman from this marginalized Samaritan group is the first recorded person in this gospel to tell people about Jesus in northern Israel. 

    This story should be encouraging to all of us from the standpoint that God also uses broken and sinful people to serve him, to share his gospel and to tell the world about Jesus. 

    No one is ever too broken to know the love of Christ. 

    And no one is ever too sinful, as this woman was. No one is ever too lowly to share Jesus and be used by God to serve God. 

    Serving the mission of God is not just for the spiritual varsity team, but God has ways for all of his people to serve him. 

    And God desires for all of his people to serve him. To be light, to share the gospel, to serve others. To serve God’s mission of the world of being disciples who make disciples. 

    God uses broken people to do his work, and he can use you. No matter where you’re from, no matter what you’ve done. If you’ve wasted time, if you’ve spent years not serving God, it’s not too late. 

    God can use you. Not because of who we are, but because of who God is. And to his glory, he uses broken people to serve his purposes. 

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  • The Church – being part of something bigger than yourself

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    An astounding 16 million soldiers, sailors and Marines served America in the Second World War.

    And while most of our focus on World War II is on the military and combat, within the United States, there was an effort to support the war unlike anything our nation had seen or has seen since.

    With millions going overseas, Americans at home took up new jobs.

    Coming out of the Great Depression, unemployment dried up, reaching an all time low in 1944.

    The war effort affected virtually every facet of American life. Companies shifted their manufacturing efforts to supporting the war and supplying the military. Maytag went from making washing machines to making parts for airplanes. Firestone Tires made artillery shells and aluminum containers for food transport.

    Products like sugar, butter, bacon, and cheese were rationed. As were penicillin and other medicines, along with rubber and certain types of metals. Materials for clothing such as silk and nylon were needed for uniforms. Everything went to supporting a cause that was so much bigger than any one person.

    And everyone’s contributions mattered.

    To help pay for the war, the government sold war bonds. Over 85 million Americans purchased war bonds to help fund the effort. To put that in perspective, that was more than half of the entire United States population at the time.

    An incredible effort.

    The church has a mission 

    As Christians, we too are called to be part of a cause that is far bigger than any of us, but where everyone has a role, where everyone has a job to do, where everyone has a way to serve.

    The mission of God on earth.

    And that mission is to spread the gospel. To make disciples. To build up the church. To love one another.

    It’s not a passive request in scripture, nor is it a good suggestion, but something which God commands from all of his people.

    If you’re a person who has placed faith in Jesus, this applies to you.

    As the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20:

    I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

    You belong to Jesus when you place your faith in him.

    And part of the purpose of the Christian life is one that is lived in service of God for the mission of God in the world.

    You were made to have an impact 

    Do you ever feel like you were made for something great?

    Do you ever feel like you were meant to have an impact?

     You are made for more, you are made to do great things, you are born to have an impact in the world.

    An impact for Jesus.

    We can try to build our own kingdoms, we can try to collect our own toys, we can try to control and manipulate the circumstances in our lives to make us feel secure.

    We can do those things.

    But we were made to serve the mission of Christ in the world.

    And that includes sharing the gospel, making disciples, making Jesus known, growing together as His Church, and serving God.

    As a church, every person in the church is called to use the ways God has gifted and equipped them for the purpose of serving God and building up the church.

    That’s why we’re here.

    Writing to the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul said:

    Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 

    Maybe you’ve never really thought about that.

    But all Christians are given Spiritual gifts.

    Doesn’t matter how well you know the Bible.

    It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian. There’s no probationary period before you can God.

    It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how outgoing you are, or how many people you know.

    It doesn’t matter how talented you think you are.

    If you’re a Christian, God has given you gifts to serve him and build up his church.

    Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have nothing to offer.

    I think that’s the reason why some people don’t serve.

    It’s nonsense.

    Because everyone here has much to offer. Much to contribute.

    It can be easy to see a really talented pastor, a really gifted musician, someone who’s really outgoing, and to feel insecure about what you have to offer.

    But the unsung heroes are the backbone of congregations, people faithfully and humbly serving. Books get written about generals, but the real work is done by soldiers.

    Originally posted May 13, 2019

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  • Cain and Abel. Studying Genesis 4

    Cain and Abel. Studying Genesis 4

    In Genesis 3, we dramatically see the fall of humanity into sin. 

    While death is the ultimate judgment for a sinful world, Adam and Eve do not die immediately. Genesis 4 begins with the continuation of the human race. As Eve has children, it is also a reminder of God’s promise that a child of the woman would crush the head of serpent (Genesis 3:15). 

    Genesis 4:1-2:

    Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 

    We see the first brothers: Cain and Abel. It will become the first of several sibling rivalries in the Book of Genesis. Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers. 

    From their introduction in Genesis, we see that the two are different, even down to their occupations. One is a sheep herd, the other is a farmer. It’s not a commentary on one of those jobs being superior to the other. But the brothers are different. 

    In verses 3-5, we see the sacrifice which would spark a bitter and tragic disagreement between the two brothers. 

    3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

    Sacrifice becomes a significant theme throughout the rest of the Bible. 

    Here we see two sacrifices made to God. One is acceptable. One is not. 

    The NIV Study Bible describes sacrifice and says: ​​”Generally speaking, Israelites presented sacrifices for one of three reasons: to praise and thank the Lord, to emphasize their requests to the Lord, and to atone for sin and impurity.”

    To our modern sensibilities, the idea of sacrifices might seem archaic and backwards. Sacrifices point us to the holiness of God and that there are appropriate ways to approach a holy God. Atoning sacrifices point us to the costliness of sin. Sacrifices were an opportunity to trust God’s provision as people would sacrifice things which were costly (God required a person’s best animals), and to make that sacrifice and to trust that God would still provide what was needed. 

    Sacrifices also point us to the ultimate and perfect sacrifice when Jesus gave himself for our sins. 

    The author of Hebrews talks of Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). 

    Cain and Abel make sacrifices. That raises a lot of questions. Were they told to make sacrifices? If so, that’s never recorded. Did they take it upon themselves to make sacrifices? Had Adam made sacrifices? Where did the idea come from? The Bible doesn’t answer any of these questions. Perhaps it’s part of human nature. We prize and value sacrifices for that which we think is worthy. 

    Cain and Abel both make sacrifices. 

    As has already been mentioned, the Lord accepts Abel’s but not Cain’s sacrifice. 

    But the issue with this passage is not the sacrifices themselves, it’s the heart of Cain. 

    Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

    Cain and Abel each bring sacrifices which are related to their vocations. Cain the farmer brings some of the fruit of the ground while Abel the sheep herd brings the firstborn of his flock. 

    In later Old Testament laws, God would require the firstfruits of what was produced and the firstborn of teh animals to be sacrificed (cf Exodus 13:2; 23:16). 

    This language will also be applied to Jesus in the New Testament. In the Christ hymn of Colossians 1, Jesus is referred to as the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15). 

    There was a greater heart behind the sacrifice of Abel as he brought God his best. In bringing the fat portions, those were the prized cuts of the animal. 

    As I’ve mentioned, the issue is the heart of Cain, not the sacrifice itself because when the Lord had no regard for Cain’s sacrifice, Cain became better.

    Verses 6:

    6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 

    Just like with Adam and Eve in the garden, God begins with a question. 

    More and more, I appreciate the value of the right question.

    God tells Cain what he must do. 

    Genesis 4:7: 

    If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 

    This is the first time in the Bible that sin is named. It is personified as something that is powerful. On a similar train of thought, Paul would describe the power of sin in Romans 7. 

    Romans 7:15-20:

    15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 

    Instead of dealing with sin, we see Cain against his brother. 

    Cain murders Abel

    Genesis 4:8:

    8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

    Instead of listening to God, Cain has swung hard the other way. 

    In the first sin, humanity ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and now man is killing man. Cain kills his brother. Man has taken the life of another image bearer. 

    Genesis 4:9, The Lord asks Cain: 

    9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 

    Once again, God comes to Cain with a question. Cain is invited to confess but instead attempts to deflect. He acts as though Abel’s whereabouts are not his responsibility. But he’s the one who has taken the life of his brother! 

    Adam fesses up to his sin, but Cain misdirects and misleads in his attempt to cover up his sin. 

    We see no remorse from Cain for his sin. 

    But God knows. 

    Kenneth Matthews notes that Abel’s blood convicts the sinner, but we will see that the blood of Christ redeems the sinner. 

    Genesis 4:10-12:

    And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

    When Adam and Eve sinned, the ground was cursed. When Cain sins, we will see that he himself is cursed because of his sin against his brother. 

    In Genesis 4:13-15, we continue to see the heart of Cain:  13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 

    Cain’s sin brings alienation both from the land, from people, and from the Lord. We see his concern for vulnerability. Ironic considering he’s just murdered his brother! But just because Cain has killed Abel does not mean that anyone can arbitrarily kill Cain.  

    Genealogy

    Genesis 4 ends by introducing what will become another significant theme in the Book of Genesis. The genealogy from Adam, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and beyond. 

    Cain’s genealogy is first introduced before the passage ends by returning to Adam and Eve and a new son they have. Seth. The line of Adam will continue, but through Seth. 

    25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:25-26). 

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  • Divine providence and the first king of Israel. Studying 1 Samuel 9:15-16

    Divine providence and the first king of Israel. Studying 1 Samuel 9:15-16

    In 1 Samuel 9, Saul is looking for some lost donkeys. What he didn’t know is that Samuel had had a vision the day before that will change Saul’s life. 

    1 Samuel 9:15-16:
    15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” 

    The ESV uses the word prince. Different translations use different words there. Prince. Some translations say leader. Captain. 

    What this word specifically isn’t is “king.” In fact, that word is found nowhere in this passage. Pointing out that God is the true king. 

    The providence of God

    In this passage, we see the providential hand of God. 

    The Lord is going to bring the future king before Samuel. 

    Providence can be a complicated thing. Some could look at all of life as just a random series of events, with nothing being connected.

    In the Bible, we see numerous stories, where God’s guiding hand of providence is leading. We see it in the story of Joseph as the Lord takes a man who was betrayed by his own brothers and uses Joseph to end up saving Israel and saving his brother Judah, from whose line Jesus would come into the world. 

    We see providence in the Book of Ruth when a young women who’s a widow and has nothing moves away from her homeland and goes to Bethlehem. And it is there that a relative of her deceased husband, a man named Boaz marries Ruth and they have a Son who was the grandfather of King David. 

    You have these series of events where the end result would not have happened had one thing been changed. The razor’s edge. 

    We see the providential hand of God working throughout the Old Testament, throughout the history of Israel, throughout the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all the way to David, all the way to Joseph and Mary through whom Jesus came into the world. 

    God providentially working. 

    We see the providence of God throughout Paul’s missionary journeys. Successes but also times of major setbacks. Arrests, beatings, places he couldn’t travel to. But all of it was for a purpose as the work of God was advancing in the world. 

    Those events are not random. The Lord is working in the world. He is working in history. He is working today, and he is working in our own lives. 

    Saul found out his calling while searching for some donkeys.

    For other Biblical figures, Abraham had a divine encounter when near the entrance of a tent. God spoke to Moses in a burning bush when he was tending to his sheep. 

    Another man named Saul, who we know better as the Apostle Paul was hunting down Christians to persecute them and walking on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him. 

    Events so dramatic don’t happen all the time but God is no less at work. 

    The things we do, the people we are, the backgrounds we have, the things that happen, all of it is for a purpose. 

    And we have an opportunity within those things to serve the Lord and to be part of his story. 

    Saul had his chance and ultimately fell into sin. Instead of being an example of grace, he became an example of how far we can fall.

    The Israelites had demanded a king and told that it would go poorly for them. More taxes, loss of land, everyone would be a subject. But they wanted a king nonetheless. 

    Perhaps you wonder why Saul failed if he was the man whom God chose? Because Saul was a fallible man and fallible people will never be the world’s ultimate hope. Even good kings in Israel still had their failings. 

    But a king would come who would be the ultimate savior of Israel and of the world. And Saul points to that, and David will point to that. And all of the kings of Israel will point to that. 

    The main character of this book is not Samuel, it’s not Saul, it’s not David. The main character is God who despite the failures of the kings, remains the ultimate sovereign over Israel who is leading his people and his kingdom. 

    That was true in the days of Saul. And it’s still true today. God is the king. He is soverengly working.

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