NIV Bible in One Year with Commentary_Sample

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1 JAN New Year’s Resolutions

I belong to a squash club, which is also a gym. Each year on 1 January they bring in extra gym equipment. The place is packed out. By about 7 January, they move all the extra equipment out again, as most people have given up their New Year’s resolution, and the club returns to normal!

• Get fit

• Lose weight

• Reduce drinking

• Stop smoking

• Get out of debt

There is nothing wrong with making these common New Year’s resolutions. Of course, all of us make resolutions that we fail to keep.

The good news is that each year is an opportunity for a fresh start. But then so is each week. Every Sunday is the first day of the week – a new beginning. Actually, every day is an opportunity for a new beginning.

The first three words in the Bible are, ‘In the beginning…’ (Genesis 1:1). Each of the passages for today tells us something about new beginnings and new opportunities, and suggests some possible New Year’s resolutions.

READING FROM PSALMS P salm 1:1–6

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the L ord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither –whatever they do prospers.

‘Delight’ in the Bible

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the L ord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

If you are beginning the challenge to read the Bible in One Year, this psalm has encouraging words for you.

The promise is that if you ‘delight’ in God’s word and ‘meditate’ on Scripture ‘day and night’ (v.2), your life will be blessed. Happiness comes from what happens to you. Blessing is what happens to you through knowing God and meditating on his words.

God promises you fruitfulness (‘which yields its fruit in season’, v.3b), vitality (‘whose leaves do not wither’, v.3c) and prosperity (‘whatever they do prospers’, v.3d), though not necessarily material prosperity!

This message is backed up by a glance across at the ultimate fate of ‘the wicked’. The psalmist does not try to pretend that the wicked don’t sometimes prosper. He simply reminds us of the transitory nature of that prosperity – ‘they are like chaff that the wind blows away … [they] will perish’ (vv.4, 6).

The key to lasting – and ultimately eternal – fruitfulness and vitality lies in your relation ship with God. As you seek to follow ‘the way of the righteous’, you are assured that the Lord himself will watch over you (v.6).

Lord, thank you for your wonderful promises as I resolve to make a regular habit of delighting in your word and meditating on it.

NEW TESTAMENT READING Matthew 1:1–25

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

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After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Focus on Jesus

Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, 15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

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This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’

22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 ‘The virgin will con ceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Resolve to focus your life on Jesus. The Bible is all about Jesus. The New Testament opens with his family tree.

As we read the list of Jesus’ ancestors it is encourag ing to see that they include Tamar (the adulteress), Rahab (the sex worker), Ruth (the non-Jewish Moabite), Solomon (who was conceived after King David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba), as well as many others. Thankfully, God uses sinful human beings and, therefore, can use us. Whatever your past, however broken your life may seem right now, God can use you to do something great with your life.

God can use you to do something great with your life.

The very name ‘Jesus’ means, ‘he will save his people from their sins’ (v.21). Every time we use the name Jesus it reminds us that our greatest need is not for happiness or contentment (although these may be by-products). Our greatest need, as with Jesus’ ancestors, is for for giveness. Therefore, we need a Saviour.

The beginning of Matthew shows us that Jesus is the completion of all that is recorded in the Old Testament:

• Jesus is the climax of history

Matthew opens his Gospel by summarising the Old Testament story in terms of Jesus’ ances try (vv.1–17). The Old Testament tells the story that Jesus completes. Matthew sets out the history of the people of God in terms of three equal periods: fourteen generations from Abra ham to David, fourteen from David to the exile and fourteen from the exile to Christ (v.17).

In the genealogy, biological generations are skipped over (as was quite common in Old Testament family trees). Matthew was pointing out that Old Testament history falls into three approximately equal spans of time between crucial events. Jesus is the end of the line as far as the Old Testament story goes – the climax has been reached.

• In Jesus, all the promises of God are fulfilled

Jesus is not only the completion of the Old Testament story at a historical level, he is also the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies and all of God’s promises.

Matthew concludes each of five scenes from the conception, birth and early childhood of Jesus by quoting the Hebrew Scriptures that have been ‘fulfilled’ by the events described (Matthew 1:22–3; 2:5–6, 17–18, 23; 4:14–16).

The first one is the fulfilment in the conception of Jesus: ‘All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)’ (1:22–3).

All of history, prophecy and promise, is completed in Jesus. Your whole life is completed in Jesus. Every part of your life: your work, family, relationships, friends, memories and dreams are completed in Jesus.

Lord, thank you for this promise for the new year – that, in Jesus, you are with me. Help me to focus my life on you in the year ahead.

OLD TESTAMENT READING G enesis 1:1–2:17

The Beginning

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was form less and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

5God called the light ‘day’, and the darkness he called ‘night’. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day.

6 And God said, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.’

7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the

vault ‘sky’. And there was evening, and there was morning the second day.

9 And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground ‘land’, and the gath ered waters he called ‘seas’. And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land thwat bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning the third day.

Your whole life is completed in Jesus.

14 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so.

16 God made two great lights the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning the fourth day.

20 And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, ac cording to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ 23 And there was evening, and there was morning the fifth day.

24 And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each accord ing to its kind.’ And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the crea tures that move along the ground.’

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over

every living creature that moves on the ground.’

29 Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground everything that has the breath of life in it I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day.

2Thus the heavens and the earth were com pleted in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the L ord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the L ord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the L ord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)

13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land

of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care

Enjoy God’s creation

of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’

You are not here by chance. This universe is God’s creation. You are made in his image.

Genesis gives an account of the beginning of the universe. It goes way beyond the scientific theories of ‘how?’ and ‘when?’ It answers the questions of ‘who’ and ‘why?’ Scientific theories do not prove or disprove this explanation. Rather, they are complementary.

Reading this passage through the lens of the New Testament we see the whole Trinity involved in creation. The Hebrew noun for God ( Elohim ) is a plural noun. The Holy Spirit was involved in creation (1:2). It was through Jesus that creation came into being: ‘And God said…’ (v.3a). Jesus is God’s Word and through him the universe was created (see John 1:1–3).

In the midst of this account of the creation, there is an amazing throwaway line showing the immense power of God: ‘He also made the stars’ (Genesis 1:16). We now know there are probably between 100 and 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and our galaxy is but one of around 100 billion galaxies. He made them all, just like that!

The pinnacle of his creation was human beings. You are made in the image of God (v.27). If we want to know what God is like, it is men and women together (‘male and female’, v.27b) who reflect his image.

Every human being is created in his image and should be treated with dignity, respect and love. Your ability to communicate with God is a reflection of the fact that you are made in his image.

God approves of all that he created. He said, ‘It is good.’ Many people feel worthless, insecure and of no value. But God did not create rubbish. God created you. He loves you and approves of you. He may not approve of everything you do, but he loves you unconditionally, wholeheartedly and continually.

We see in this passage that work is a blessing: ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’ (2:15). Work is part of God’s good creation –not a result of the fall. This passage also reminds us that taking care of the environment is right at the heart of God’s plan for human beings.

Rest is not an optional extra. It is what God did (‘he rested’, v.2). These days of rest are days of special blessing: ‘God blessed the seventh day and made it holy’ (v.3). Holidays are holy days. They point to the fact that life is primarily about being rather than doing. Don’t feel guilty about taking time off. Holidays are good in themselves. They are also a time to recharge spiritually.

Don’t work too hard. God took time to rest and enjoy what he had made. You are not sup posed to work constantly. You are created with a need for relaxation and rest – taking the time to enjoy your work and the fruit of your work.

In Genesis 2:16–17 we see that God gave Adam and Eve far-reaching permission (‘you are free to eat from any tree in the garden’, v.16), with one prohibition – ‘but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ (v.17a). He warned them of the penalty if they diso beyed (‘when you eat of it you will surely die’, v.17b). You do not need to know and experience evil. God wants you to know only good.

Lord, thank you for this universe that you have made. Help me to keep well away from evil and to enjoy all the good things you have given us to enjoy.

Pippa Adds (Matthew 1:18–19)

How difficult this must have been for Mary, her parents and Joseph. They must have felt embarrassed and ashamed. We see why Joseph was chosen to be Mary’s husband – he was very impressive. The girl he was about to marry was pregnant; he would have been justified in being furious. Yet he didn’t want to humiliate her – he planned to ‘divorce her quietly’. We see how he acts after an angel appeared in a dream and told him to marry Mary (v.24). It must have taken faith to put aside what people thought and raise a child that was not his own.

DAY 2 2 JAN Your First Question

‘What is your first question going to be?’ I was preparing my cross-examination for one of the first criminal trials in which I was involved when I worked as a barrister. A senior and expe rienced lawyer was helping me prepare. He showed me the significance of a first question.

READING FROM PSALMS Psalm 2:1–12

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the L ord and against his anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break their chains,’ ‘and throw off their shackles.’

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’

7 I will proclaim the L ord’s decree:

He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.

8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the L ord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

1. The first question in the Psalms is about Jesus

It is all about Jesus. The safest place to be in life is close to Jesus.

Paul, preaching the gospel in Antioch, quotes this psalm. He says, ‘We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”’ (Acts 13:32–3, quoting Psalm 2:7).

It is Jesus who is his ‘anointed’ (Psalm 2:2). The Hebrew word here is mashiach (‘messiah’). He is the Christ, the Son of God, whom we are to love: ‘Kiss his son’ (v.12).

The psalm’s original context probably concerned a particular situation involving a human king of Israel. Yet, as we read it with a larger horizon in mind, we see that the first question asked in the Psalms points forward in anticipation to Jesus. Why do people ‘conspire’ and ‘plot’ against him (vv.1–2)?

This is exactly what we see happening in the New Testament, even in today’s passage, in relation to Jesus. Right from the start of Jesus’ life, we see rulers gathering together and con spiring and plotting in vain (Matthew 2:3–4).

Yet the psalm ends, ‘Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are all those who seek refuge and put their trust in him!’ (v.12b, AMP). With all the storms of life, and supremely the storm of Jesus’ coming in final judgment, the only safe place to be is ‘in Him’.

The safest place to be in life is close to Jesus.

Lord, thank you that as I look to the year ahead and all the potential challenges, opportunities and possibilities, the safest place to be is in you.

NEW TESTAMENT READING Matthew 2:1–18

The Magi Visit the Messiah

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After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’

3 When King Herod heard this he was dis turbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 ‘In Bethle hem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:

6 ‘ “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” ’

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to

the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

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When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’

16 When Herod realised that he had been out witted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

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‘A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’

2. The first question in the New Testament is about Jesus

Appropriately, the first question in the New Testament is also about Jesus. The whole of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus.

The Magi (often referred to as ‘the wise men’) sensed the significance of Jesus’ birth. They asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?’ (v.2). They sought and found him. When ‘they saw the child … they bowed down and worshipped him’ (v.11). They rec ognised that Jesus was the fulfilment of all the hopes and dreams of the people up to his birth.

Jesus is the one who fulfils all God’s promises. In yester day’s reading we looked at one example of such a fulfilment. Today we see three more examples:

• Place of his birth

Matthew saw that even the place of Jesus’ birth was prophesied in Micah 5:2. It was out of Bethlehem that the ‘ruler’ and ‘shepherd’ would arise, ‘for this is what the prophet has written’ (Matthew 2:5–6).

• Exile in Egypt

When Herod tried to kill Jesus, the family escaped to Egypt (v.13). Matthew writes, ‘So was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son”’ (v.15; see also Hosea 11:1).

Jesus is the one who fulfils all God’s promises.

• Slaughter of the children

When Herod ordered the murder of all boys under the age of two (Matthew 2:16), this fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15 (Matthew 2:17–18).

Lord Jesus, today I want to bow down and worship you. I want to offer you everything I have – my life, my all.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Genesis 2:18–4:16

18 The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’

19 Now the L ord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman”, for she was taken out of man.’

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they be come one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

The Fall

Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the L ord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’

2 The woman said to the snake, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” ’

4 ‘You will not certainly die,’ the snake said to the woman. 5 ‘For God knows that when 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 fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the gar den in the cool of the day, and they hid from the L ord God among the trees of the garden.

9 But the L ord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’

10 He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’

11 And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?’

12 The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’

The woman said, ‘The snake deceived me, and I ate.’

14 So the Lord God said to the snake, ‘Be cause you have done this,

‘Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’

16 To the woman he said,

‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

with painful labour you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’

17 To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it,”

‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’

20Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The L ord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the L ord God said, ‘The man has now be come like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live for ever.’ 23 So the L ord God ban ished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel 4 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the L ord I have

brought forth a man.’ 2Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the L ord. 4 But Abel also brought an offer ing fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The L ord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the L ord said to Cain, ‘Why are you an gry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.’

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the L ord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’

‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’

10 The L ord said, ‘What have you done? Lis ten! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.’

13 Cain said to the L ord, ‘My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.’

15 But the L ord said to him, ‘Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.’ Then the L ord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the L ord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

3. The first question in the Bible is about God’s goodness

Do you ever find yourself doubting whether God’s way really is the best? Do you find yourself wondering whether, even though God says it is wrong, something is worth trying anyway?

God gave to humankind everything they could possibly want. The whole created world was made for us to enjoy. Every possible need was catered for. The pinnacle of God’s creation was humankind. The need for community was solved by the creation of other human beings: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone’ (2:18).

It started with the beautiful gift of marriage: ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh’ (v.24). Marriage is the

lifelong union of a man and a woman in which sex, another of God’s beautiful gifts, is to be enjoyed with intimacy and freedom, without guilt or ‘shame’ (vv.24–5).

Yet despite this abundant provision of everything good, human beings looked for some thing more and they succumbed to the temptation to take forbidden fruit.

The temptation started with doubts about God. Here is the first question in the Bible: ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ (3:1). Behind this question is the demonic lie that God is withholding from you something that is really exciting.

Eve’s first mistake was to engage with the snake in conversation. We are created to con verse with God, not the devil.

The devil, in the form of the snake, fools Eve into thinking that there will be no consequences to her sin – ‘You will not certainly die’ (v.4). He imputes bad motives to God: ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ (v.5). It is often the case that you swallow a lie about God, before you swallow forbid den fruit.

The fruit looked ‘good’ and ‘pleasing to the eye’ and ‘desirable for gaining wisdom’ (v.6). This is often how temptation appears. Adam and Eve sinned and, as so frequently happens, cover-up followed the sin: ‘So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for them selves’ (v.7).

4. The first question God asks in the Bible is about you

Adam and Eve’s friendship with God was broken. When they heard God coming, they hid (v.8). But God immediately came looking for them, and we find his first question in the Bible: ‘Where are you?’ (v.9). God did not give up on them.

Whenever you fall away from him, God comes searching for you, wanting the relationship to be restored.

He says to the snake that one of Eve’s descendants ‘will crush your head, and you will strike his heel’ (v.15b). Jesus is the one who will crush the head of the snake. But there will be a cost – ‘you will strike his heel’. We see here the first hint of what it will cost to restore the relationship. On the cross Jesus crushed Satan, but it cost him his life. His blood was shed so that you and I could be forgiven and our relationship with God restored.

5. The first question humanbeings ask is about responsibility

‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (4:9b). This is the crucial question for today. Do you have respon sibility for others?

The result of the fall is a broken relationship with God. Adam and Eve blamed each other (3:11–12), and in chapter 4 we read that their children also fell out with each other. Arguments, quarrelling and falling out with one another began here. It has blighted the human race ever since. Try to avoid arguments. You will rarely win one and they are so destructive.

Cain was angry with his brother Abel. God’s questioning continued: ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it’ (4:6–7).

You will either master sin (now through the power of the cross and resurrection and with the help of the Spirit), or else sin will master you. In Cain’s case, it did. He killed his brother (v.8). God asked him yet another question: ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ (v.9a).

In response, Cain asked the first question by a human being in the Bible: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (v.9b). Cain wanted to avoid responsibility. He was saying, ‘Do I really have responsi bility for anyone other than myself?’

The biblical answer is that you do have responsibility for others. We cannot exempt our selves from responsibility for what is happening around us – in our city, nation and the world. For example, we cannot accept that thousands of children die every day as a result of extreme poverty and simply say, ‘It’s not our responsibility.’

Not only do you have responsibility towards your fellow human beings, but it is your privi lege to bring blessing and joy to your friends, family and all those around you, and to make a difference in the lives of as many people as possible.

Lord, thank you that you have created this wonderful universe for us to enjoy in relationship with you. Help me this year to fulfil the potential I have to make a difference in other people’s lives.

Pippa Adds

‘When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi’ (Matthew 2:16).

I always feel traumatised when I read this passage. What a terrible thing Herod did to the vulnerable, just because he felt insecure about his own position. Are you ever in danger of putting others down to try and secure your own position?

DAY 3 3 JAN Talk as You Walk

I love walking. Apparently, it is one of the best forms of physical exercise. Of course, walking is also a means, and for some people their only means, of transport.

Walking for whatever reason is more enjoyable with someone else. Walking and talking is a great way to communicate with family, friends, and also with God.

The point is that we are doing two things at the same time. We are not just taking exercise or travelling. As we walk together we are in communion with one another. Both Enoch and Noah ‘walked … with God’ (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). They didn’t just sit, kneel or stand with God (the kind of actions we would often associate with spending time with God), but they were also in communion with God when doing something else. While you are doing other things –working, eating, exercising or relaxing – you can be in communion with God at the same time.

Personally, I also find it the best way to pray. This has been my pattern for the last few years. After reading the Bible each day, I go out and walk around our local park – which is almost deserted early in the morning. I note down anything I sense the Holy Spirit saying as I pray. You can pray as you walk to the bus stop or walk from one activity to the next. Talk as you walk.

The Bible has a great deal to say about walking with God. It is how you were intended to live. God’s desire for you is that you walk humbly in a relationship with him (Micah 6:8). This is what Jesus has made possible – for you to walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6). You may stumble from time to time, but one day you will walk with him ‘dressed in white’ (Revelation 3:4).

READING FROM PSALMS Psalm 3:1–8

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

1 L ord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!

2 Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’

3 But you, L ord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

4 I call out to the L ord, and he answers me from his holy mountain

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the L ord sustains me.

6 I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

7 Arise, L ord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the L ord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.