Reading for Today:
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Genesis 7:1
Chapter 7 1 And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
–8:22
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Psalms 3:1-4
Chapter 3 1 Jehovah, how are mine adversaries increased! Many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there are that say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah 3 But thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me; My glory and the lifter up of my head. 4 I cry unto Jehovah with my voice, And he answereth me out of his holy hill. Selah
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Proverbs 1:20-22
20 Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; She uttereth her voice in the broad places; 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words: 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And scoffers delight them in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?
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Matthew 4:1-25
Chapter 4 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. 3 And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 12 Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, 16 The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up. 17 From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18 And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left the nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence he saw two other brethren, James the `son' of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him. 23 And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people. 24 And the report of him went forth into all Syria: and they brought unto him all that were sick, holden with divers diseases and torments, possessed with demons, and epileptic, and palsied; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judaea and `from' beyond the Jordan.
Notes:
Genesis 7:11 all the fountains of the great deep were broken up. The subterranean waters sprang up from deep fountains inside the earth to form the seas and rivers (1:10; 2:10–14), which were not produced by rainfall, since it never rained before the Flood. the windows of heaven. The celestial waters in the canopy encircling the globe were dumped on the earth and joined with the terrestrial and the subterranean waters (see 1:7). The Flood ended the water canopy surrounding the earth and unleashed the water in the earth. Thus began the earth’s cycle of hydrology, with rain and evaporation (see
Job 26:8
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them.
; Eccl. 1:7; Is. 55:10;
Amos 9:6
6 `it is' he that buildeth his chambers in the heavens, and hath founded his vault upon the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; Jehovah is his name.
).
Proverbs 1:22
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And scoffers delight them in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?
How long. Three classes of people need wisdom: 1) the simple, who are ignorant; 2) scorners or mockers, who commit more serious, determined acts; and 3) fools or obstinate unbelievers, who will not listen to the truth. Proverbs directs its wisdom primarily at the first group.
Matthew 4:4
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
It is written. All 3 of Jesus’ replies to the devil were taken from Deuteronomy. This one, from
Deuteronomy 8:3
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
, states that God allowed Israel to hunger, so that He might feed them with manna and teach them to trust Him to provide for them. So the verse is directly applicable to Jesus’ circumstances and a fitting reply to Satan’s temptation. every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. A more important source of sustenance than food, it nurtures our spiritual needs in a way that benefits us eternally, rather than merely providing temporal relief from physical hunger.
DAY 4: How significant is the Flood in the overall biblical history?
The Bible treats the Flood as a worldwide event directly brought by God as a judgment on the sin of humanity. The flood hangs like a warning cloud over all subsequent history. Fortunately, that cloud also holds a rainbow of God’s promised grace.
Conditions in Noah’s day were ripe for judgment.“ Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). This verse provides one of the strongest and clearest statements about man’s sinful nature. Many other verses make it clear that God had every reason for radical action:
Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?
, 10;
Matthew 12:34
34 Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
, 35; 15:18, 19;
Mark 7:21
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
;
Luke 6:45
45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil `man' out of the evil `treasure' bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
. Other notable Scriptures on the worldwide flood brought by God include
Job 12:15
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.
; 22:16;
Psalms 29:10
10 Jehovah sat `as King' at the Flood; Yea, Jehovah sitteth as King for ever.
; 104:6–9;
Isaiah 54:9
9 For this is `as' the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
;
Matthew 24:37
37 And as `were' the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
–39;
Luke 17:26
26 And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
, 27;
Hebrews 11:7
7 By faith Noah, being warned `of God' concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
;
1 Peter 3:20
20 that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water:
;
2 Peter 2:5
5 and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
; 3:5, 6.
The Flood illustrates several important aspects of God’s character and God’s relationship with His creation: 1) God retains ultimate control of world events; 2) God can and will judge sin; 3) God can and does exercise grace even in judgment; 4) An even more universal and final judgment will be carried out on the world based on God’s timetable.
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
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