The Seven Dispensations: Man's Failure & God's Grace (Part 3 of 7)

Hello Friends!

Welcome back to part three of The Seven Dispensations: Man's Failure & God's Grace.

 

The Holy Scriptures divide time – the entire period from the creation of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis to the "new heaven and a new earth" promised to all believers in the book of Revelation – into seven unequal periods, usually titled dispensations (see Ephesians 3:2). These periods are also referred to as “ages” (see Ephesians 2:7). They are also referred to as “days” as in "day of the Lord".

 

This week we will investigate the third Dispensation known as GOVERNMENT…

 

The Seven Dispensations: #3 – Man in Authority Over the Earth

GOVERNMENT

Out of the fearful judgment of the flood, God saved eight persons, to whom, after the waters were assuaged, He gave the purified earth with ample power to govern it. Noah and his descendants were responsible for this governing process. The Dispensation of Human Government resulted, upon the plain of Shinar, in the impious attempt to become independent of God and closed in judgment: The Confusion of Tongues.

Summary Principle:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor – Romans 13:1-7 

Opening Event – Noah worships God ~ Receives a covenant & responsibility:

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” – Genesis 8:20-22

Man’s Responsibility – Believe & Obey:

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man – Genesis 9:1-6

Man’s Failure – Disorder:

~ Personal

And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness – Genesis 9:20-23

~ Societal

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” – Genesis 11:1-4

Man’s Tendency – Away from God:

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth – Genesis 6:11-12

Closing Event – Judgment ~ Confusion of Tongues:

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth – Genesis 11:5-9

Personal Salvation – By Grace through Faith ~ The line of the Seed:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant – Genesis 9:26

This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Salah. After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran – Genesis 11:10-32

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate Dispensation #4 – PROMISE…

‏May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Shane <><

Find the Right Words

9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. Ecclesiastes 12

I found it interesting that no one knows the identity of the Teacher.  They weren't doing this for any personal gain or glory, they were doing this for God.  They wanted to find the words that would best glorify God.

I am a slow thinker.  Really!  I hated when I was called on in class or put on the spot to answer questions.  I still find it surprising that I enjoyed five years working in the Support department where I answered questions from incoming calls - that was totally God leading me through everything there!  Anyways, I even have a hard time praying out loud because of this.  I like to really think about my words first so I can be sure that I'm saying the right thing.

Two things happened in Bible study last night about this.  First, I was called upon by the group leader to close us out in prayer.  Yes, I probably looked like a deer in headlights at first, but I tried my best to hide my shocked expression and I got through it.  I told my husband when I got home and his first question was, "So what did everyone think?"  My response was, "Well, they all said amen at the end, and they didn't stone me.  So, I think they were ok with it."  I'm working on coming to terms with the idea that there are some times where you don't have to have the right words, just saying what is on your heart is enough.  God doesn't need to hear you say x, y, and z in your prayers.  He wants you to be open and honest with him.

The other thing that happened, was our leader told a story of how she spoke up and stood up for someone that was being harassed by a professor in school.  She said that she wasn't doing it for anyone else, but because she knew it was the right thing by God.  She spoke because she wanted to represent him, and to make sure that others knew that she was an instrument for Jesus.  I advise a college organization, and lately there have been some struggles within the group.  When we have open discussion on those topics, I am often one of the last people to speak.  It isn't because I struggle with what to say, it's because in my head, I keep molding and shaping what I will say right up until I say something.  I realized yesterday that it isn't because I'm trying to present myself in a certain manner, or get them to think a certain way, but because I am a representative of God, and what I say should reflect positively on him.  Jesus is not walking physically in this world, therefore we are called to be like Christ. Everything that comes out of our mouths should be an example of Christ.

Now, granted, I don't have a big survey example here, but I do see a pattern.  When we talk to God, we don't have to try to find "just the right words".  We can speak from the heart and he will hear us.  He'll even hear those things that we didn't say.  When we speak to others, that's when we may need to stop and think about what we're saying.  We need to say something that will be glorifying to God, and not make people question our faith.

To wrap up Ecclesiastes, everything we do should be meaningful and focused toward God.  Anything that doesn't center around God is meaningless.  Even the words that come out of our mouths should be meaningful, and we should strive to always please God with what we say.

So Special

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.  Psalm 139:13-14

This week, I have been going through ‘Strengths’ training.  This is not in the sense of bar bells and weightlifting sense.  It is along the lines of understanding my own abilities that are unique from others, and where others’ abilities are more readily visible to me as well.  It has been incredibly eye opening because in as much as I gain clarity on my own uniqueness, I begin to marvel at the amazing abilities of others not only at work but also at church and even home.  It gives me more assurance of God’s infinite wisdom of why He made us this way.

We were made special by God intentionally.  Last week, I spoke about God being quite simply enough.  This week, I am compelled to focus on why you are special.  It is not special in the sense that society has brought out the need to be above all in a promoted ‘look at me’ self.  More so, it is in the sense that God gifted us with special abilities to share with the world.  We are uniquely and perfectly made by God in His image.  Now the obvious question most would ask is if we are perfectly made, why are we not perfect?  Some would say sin, but I believe it goes further than that.  If we were perfect, who would we need?  No one.  Not just God.  We would not need each other, and if we did not have people around us who have perfect gifts that complement those things we do well, how incomplete would our lives be?

God makes us perfect.  Not in the sense of we are perfect.  Instead through Jesus Christ, we are perfected.  A devotional I read last week encouraged me to act on the grace God gave us and do something.  Let me add to that asking that we do something with the gifts God gave us to further His Kingdom.  What are your spiritual gifts?  How can you better channel them to do His will?  My prayer is that we are humbled knowing to God we are so special.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Starts with quality

Luke 16: 10-12 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?” (NASB)

Hello,

A couple things from these verses on quantity:

1) It comes secondarily – the quality must be there first.

The old Ford motto of “Quality is Job 1” rings through for me from these verses. So often in today’s society we are quantity driven. The focus becomes on more – and how quickly can the more happen. We look at people or companies that put real focus on quality over quantity and almost treat them as a novelty.

Also, 2) it is given/entrusted – it is not gathered or obtained by the person.

The verses don’t say that the unfaithful person can’t get more on their own as they had success, but rather that more wouldn’t be given to them. Our handling/faithfulness will be obvious – and certainly not hidden from God – and this drives what else will or will not be entrusted to us.

Don’t focus on your quantity – keep your focus on faithfully handling well what has been given to you.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill