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A Divided Heart: Lot’s Wife and the Peril of Looking Back (Genesis 19:15-26)

As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Come on! Take your wife with you and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 When he hesitated, the men, because of the Lord’s compassion for him, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them to safety outside the city. 17 As soon as they had brought them outside, they said: “Flee for your life! Do not look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Flee to the hills at once, or you will be swept away.” 18 “Oh, no, my lords!” Lot replied to them. 19 “You have already shown favor to your servant, doing me the great kindness of saving my life. But I cannot flee to the hills, or the disaster will overtake and kill me. 20 Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to. It is only a small place. Let me flee there—is it not a small place?—to save my life.” 21 “Well, then,” he replied, “I grant you this favor too. I will not overthrow the town you have ment...

Balaam’s Prophecy and the Birth of Jesus: The Star of Salvation (Numbers 24:14-19)

But now that I am about to go to my own people, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” 15 Then he recited his poem: The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is true, 16 The oracle of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, in rapture and with eyes unveiled. 17 I see him, though not now; I observe him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel, that will crush the brows of Moab, and the skull of all the Sethites, 18 Edom will be dispossessed, and no survivor is left in Seir. Israel will act boldly, 19 and Jacob will rule his foes. Balaam was a non-Israelite prophet or diviner who is best known for his interactions with the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land. Initially, Balaam was called by King Balak of Moab to curse Israel (Num 22:6), but God intervened, and each time Balaam tried to pronoun...

The Bronze Serpent and the Cross: God’s Mercy In Salvation History (Numbers 21:4-9)

From Mount Hor they set out by way of the Red Sea, to bypass the land of Edom, but the people’s patience was worn out by the journey; 5 so the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” 6 So the Lord sent among the people seraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of the Israelites died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, 8 and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover. 9 Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered. In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites, weary from their journey through the wilderness, grow impat...

The Promised Land and the True Sabbath Rest in Christ (Numbers 13:1-3, 25-33)

The Lord said to Moses: 2 Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, every one a leader among them. 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, at the direction of the Lord. All of them were leaders among the Israelites. 25 They returned from reconnoitering the land forty days later. 26 Proceeding directly to Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, they made a report to them and to the whole community, showing them the fruit of the land. 27 They told Moses: “We came to the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. 28 However, the people who are living in the land are powerful, and the towns are fortified and very large. Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there. 29 Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites dwell in the highlands, and Canaanites along t...

The Prodigal Son and Jacob and Esau: The Path of Mercy and Redemption in Christ (Luke 15:11-32)

Then he said, “A man had two sons, 12 and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. 13 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. 14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15 So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. 16 And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 17 Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. 18 I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one ...

Moses' Glimpse of God’s Glory: The Fullness of God's Presence Revealed in Christ (Ex. 33:7-11, 18-23)

Moses used to pitch a tent outside the camp at some distance. It was called the tent of meeting. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down at the entrance of their own tents. 11 The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a person speaks to a friend. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, never left the tent. 18 Then Moses said, “Please let me see your glory!” 19 The Lord answered: I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name, “Lord,” before you; I who show favor to whom I will, I who gran...

In Times of Famine: Joseph’s Bread Saves Lives, Christ’s Bread Gives Eternal Life (Genesis 41:55-57)

When all the land of Egypt became hungry and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” 56 When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. 57 Indeed, the whole world came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for famine had gripped the whole world. Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob (renamed Israel, Gen. 32:29) and the firstborn of Rachel (Gen. 30:22-24), was deeply loved by his father. His brothers, consumed by jealousy, sold him into slavery in Egypt (Gen. 37:28), where he was purchased by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. Though Joseph faithfully served in Potiphar’s house, he was falsely accused and imprisoned (Gen. 39:11-20). Yet even in suffering, God remained with him, granting him the gift of interpreting dreams. In the preceding verses (Gen. 41:25-54), Joseph interprets Phara...

Struggling in Prayer: Jacob Wrestles for a Blessing, Christ Surrenders for Redemption (Genesis 32:23-32)

That night, however, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 24 After he got them and brought them across the wadi and brought over what belonged to him, 25 Jacob was left there alone. Then a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. 26 When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that Jacob’s socket was dislocated as he wrestled with him. 27 The man then said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” 28 “What is your name?” the man asked. He answered, “Jacob.” 29 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be named Jacob, but Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed.” 30 Jacob then asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He answered, “Why do you ask for my name?” With that, he blessed him. 31 Jacob named the place Peniel, “because I have seen God face to face,” he sa...

Eve’s Temptation and Fall, Christ’s Triumph and Redemption (Genesis 3:1-6)

Now the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 4 But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! 5 God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. The temptation of Eve presents the serpent (Satan) as a deceiver who casts doubt on God's command and entices Eve with false promises. The serpent subtly disto...

Sarah and Mary’s Miraculous Conceptions: Nothing Is Impossible for God (Genesis 18:1-15)

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. 2 Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, 3 he said: “Sir, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. 4 Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree. 5 Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” “Very well,” they replied, “do as you have said.” 6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick, three measures of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.” 7 He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 Then he got some curds and milk, as well as the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them, waiting on them under the tree while they ate. 9 ...

Melchizedek: A Priest-King Foreshadowing the Eternal Priesthood of Christ (Genesis 14:17-20)

When Abram returned from his defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed Abram with these words: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Chedorlaomer and his allied kings had attacked Sodom and Gomorrah, taking Lot, Abram’s nephew, captive along with many others (Gen. 14:12-16). Abram gathered 318 trained men from his household, defeated them, and rescued Lot, along with the other captives and their possessions. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, appears in this passage as a mysterious priest-king who blesses Abram after his victory over the coalition of kings. He offers bread and wine, which many see as a foreshadowin...

The Flood and The Ark: Cleansing, Judgment, Baptism, and Redemption (Genesis 6:5-22)

When the Lord saw how great the wickedness of human beings was on earth, and how every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, 6 the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved. 7 So the Lord said: I will wipe out from the earth the human beings I have created, and not only the human beings, but also the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air, for I regret that I made them. 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord. 9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 But the earth was corrupt in the view of God and full of lawlessness. 12 When God saw how corrupt the earth had become, since all mortals had corrupted their ways on earth, 13 God said to Noah: I see that the end of all mortals has come, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I am going to destroy them with the earth. 14 Mak...

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