Daily Devotional For Monday, November 11, 2024

It is a marvelous Monday. You are either back to work or school or both or retired and enjoying the rest. We are making our way through the most famous and best sermon ever – Jesus’ The Sermon On The Mount. You can read this in its entirety in Matthew chapters  5, 6, & 7. Currently, we are in Matthew 7:7-12:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (8) For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (9) Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? (11) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (12) “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (NASB).

Jesus gives three reasons for obeying the command to love others as ourselves: God’s promise to His children demands it, His pattern for His children demands it, and His purpose for His children demands it (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” pp. 442-448). Yesterday, we looked at the first one and today, we are going to look at the second reason for obeying the command to love others as ourselves. The second reason is His pattern for His children demands it. We find this in verses 9-11:  

“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? (11) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (NASB).

As you read these verses, you can tell the point to “The Golden Rule,” in verse 12. We are to love others as ourselves because that is God’s pattern for His children, for disciples of Jesus Christ. Look at Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; (2) and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (NASB). Imperfect as we are, with that old sinful nature still in us, we are to imitate how Christ loves us. And to help us get this, Jesus gives us some examples of how God does this for His children. This should be an encouragement for us His disciples to be this way with other disciples. 

• The first example is about a father, when his son asks for bread, he would not give his son a stone. In Jesus’ day, bread often resembled a stone. Only the cruelest of fathers would give his son a stone instead of bread. Even if the son discovered the deception before breaking his tooth on a stone, the son’s heart would already be broken. Trust would be lost and the relationship severely and irreparably damaged. 
• The second example is if a son asked for a fish, would a father give his son a snake instead? The idea is not that the snake would be alive and poisonous, and therefore of physical danger to the son. The suggestion is of a snake that is cooked to look like ordinary meat and would, unlike the stone, meet the son’s physical need. But snakes were listed in the Old Testament Law as being an “unclean animal.” Look at Leviticus 11:12, “Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you” (NASB). See also Leviticus 11:29-31:

 ‘Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds, (30) and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the and reptile, and the chameleon. (31) These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening” (NASB). 

This is all reptiles, which includes snakes. And since it was a serpent or snake that deceived Adam and Eve and convinced them to sin and bring about the Fall, snakes were off limits. A loving Jewish father would not deceive and defile his son into dishonoring the Word of God by tricking him into eating ceremonially unclean food. Our Lord is simply showing that it is not natural for a father to ignore either the physical or the spiritual needs of his son.

• In Luke’s version of this, Luke adds another animal as an example – a scorpion. Look at Luke 11:12, “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?” (NASB). Certain Near East scorpions were quite large and resembled a bird’s egg when they curled up to sleep. In this instance, the deceit could cause great physical danger to the son, even an agonizing death. British New Testament scholar William Barclay writes this:

• “The scorpion is a dangerous little animal. In action it is rather like a small lobster, with claws with which it clutches its victim. Its sting is in its tail, and it brings its tail up over its back to strike its victim. The sting can be exceedingly painful, and sometimes even fatal. When the scorpion is at rest, its claws and tail are folded in; and there is a pale kind of scorpion, which, when folded up, would look exactly like an egg. If a child asks for an egg, will a parent mock that child by offering that child a stinging scorpion?” (Source: William Barclary, The Daily Study Bible Series, “Matthew,” p. 313).

Then Jesus takes these examples of a stone, snake and scorpion and says that if sinful fathers know how to give good gifts to their sons and children, how much more does our heavenly Father give us? Here is one of the many specific scriptural teachings of man’s fallen, evil nature. Jesus is not speaking of specific fathers who are especially cruel and wicked, but of human fathers in general, all of whom are sinful by nature. John MacArthur reminds us how false religions and people who are invested in them do not have our heavenly Father to help them:

“Those who do not know the true God have no divine source to whom they can turn with assurance or trust. Most pagan gods are larger than life images of the men who made and worship them. Greek mythology tells of Aurora, the goddess of dawn, who fell in love with Tithonus, a mortal youth. When Zeus, the king of gods, promised to grant her any gift she chose for her lover, she asked that Tithonus might live forever. But she had forgotten to ask that he also remain forever young. Therefore when Zeus granted the request, Tithonus was doomed to an eternity of perpetual aging (Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite [5.218–38]). Such are the capricious ways of the gods men make” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” pp. 445).

This is not true with our heavenly Father – “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” vs. 11, (NASB). For most parents, the most natural unselfish relationship is between parent and child or children. Parents sacrifice and give up their desires, greed, and lusts for their children. They will spend it on their children and not on themselves. If human parents are like this, how much more is our heavenly Father? There is no comparison Jesus says. There is no limit to what our heavenly Father will give to us when we ask in obedience and according to His will. Again we get additional truth from the parallel passage in Luke 11:13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (NASB).

The truth Jesus proclaims here is that, if imperfect and sinful human fathers so willingly and freely give their children the basics of life, God will infinitely outdo them in measure and in benefit. That is why the children of God are blessed as Ephesians 1:3 , 7-8, says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ . . . (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (8) which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight” (NASB). If we want God to treat us with loving generosity as His children, we should treat others the same, because we are those who bear His likeness.

New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes this:

“God is not selfish, begrudging, or stingy; his followers don’t have to beg or grovel when they come with their requests. He is a loving Father who understands, cares, comforts, and willingly gives good things to those who ask him. “Good things” could refer to the Holy Spirit but does not exclude material provision. If humans can be kind, imagine how kind God can be. He created kindness!” How often do people use their God-given sense of justice to question God’s fairness without seeing the contradiction? Those who demand that God be accountable for his actions are, in the words of the first verse in this chapter, measuring with a standard they really would not want used on themselves. 

Don’t you expect a loving parent to act lovingly? In spite of notorious failures, don’t you still count on parents to behave decently? Why, when it comes to the heavenly Father, are you so ready to question his concern? Jesus gave a delightful dignity to good parents in his description. He didn’t portray them as giving their children whatever they asked. Good parents give good gifts, but they are not hostages to their children’s wishes. Neither is God. We can ask God for anything. We ought to remember, however, that our heavenly Father may well have something even better in mind. How much trust do you demonstrate by the way you pray?” (Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” pp. 133-134).

Questions To Consider

1. Have you ever received a gift from a parent or someone else that you were not expecting? How did you react? If it was something you did not want, how did you respond and why?
2. Take a moment and think back over your own childhood. In what ways did you parents sacrifice to give to you that which met your needs as well as your desires? What does that mean to you today? Take a moment to genuinely thank God for them and their sacrifice?
3. If you are a parent, in what ways have you in the past and presently sacrificed for your own children? As we read above from New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton, Jesus did not portray parents giving their children everything they asked for in life. Good parents give good gifts but they are not hostage to their children. So, what does this tell you about your relationship to your heavenly Father?
4. Let’s turn the tables. What good gifts do you give back to God? Since every good gift in your life is from God (James 1:17), how do you show your appreciation to God for all your talents, skills, abilities, money, residence, material possessions, intellect, education, salvation and discipleship?
5. When it comes to this aspect of praying to your heavenly Father – ask, seek and knock – and expect good gifts – not evil gifts – what is the biggest challenge for you and why?

Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 21:22, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (NASB).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I cannot thank You enough for all the good gifts from You to me. I know I do not tell You personally enough. I am so sorry I take all of this for granted. Thank You that when I call on You with a request, You do answer it. Sometimes it may not be in the way I expected, but it is what is best for me. You know what is best for me better than I know myself. You are my loving heavenly and gracious Father. Thank You and I love You. In Jesus’ names, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly