The Big Story of the Bible

[Walter and Deborah]

Thursday 9-2-21 Elul 24, 5781 5th. day of the weekly cycle, 74th. Summer Day

Our Daily Bread 2 September 2021 Devotional – The Big Story of the Bible

Our Daily Bread 2 September 2021 Devotional Today Message By Kirsten Holmberg (Our Daily Bread Ministries)

Click To Read Previous ODB Ministries Devotional Message

TOPIC: The Big Story of the Bible

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Genesis 11:26–32

KEY VERSE: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. – 2 Timothy 3:16

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Psalms 137–139; 1 Corinthians 13

INSIGHT: In the ancient world, genealogies weren’t always simply a straightforward record of “who begat whom.” Instead, they were sometimes used to show legitimacy of relation or position. This is particularly true when it came to tracing the lineage of royalty. Ancestry (often traced back to a deity) was intended to show that the person with whom the lineage ended was the rightful and true heir. For example, the genealogy of Jesus in the book of Luke traces Jesus’ human lineage back to God Himself (Luke 3:23–38).

Ancestry records often provided key information as well, as we see in today’s text. In Genesis 11:26–32, Sarai’s childlessness is one of the striking features (v. 30) and becomes one of the important elements of the story later on (18:10–14).

Our Daily Bread 2 September 2021 Devotional Message:
When Colin opened the box of stained-glass pieces he’d purchased, instead of finding the fragments he’d ordered for a project, he discovered intact, whole windows. He sleuthed out the windows’ origin and learned they’d been removed from a church to protect them from World War II bombings. Colin marveled at the quality of work and how the “fragments” formed a beautiful picture.

If I’m honest, there are times when I open particular passages of the Bible—such as chapters containing lists of genealogies—and I don’t immediately see how they fit within the bigger picture of Scripture. Such is the case with Genesis 11—a chapter that contains a repetitive cadence of unfamiliar names and their families, such as Shem, Shelah, Eber, Nahor, and Terah (vv. 10–32). I’m often tempted to gloss over these sections and skip to a part that contains something that feels familiar and fits more easily into my “window” of understanding of the Bible’s narrative.

Since “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful” (2 Timothy 3:16), the Holy Spirit can help us better understand how a fragment fits into the whole, opening our eyes to see, for example, how Shelah is related to Abram (Genesis 11:12–26), the ancestor of David and—more importantly—Jesus (Matthew 1:2, 6, 16). He delights in surprising us with the treasure of a perfectly intact window where even the smaller parts reveal the story of God’s mission throughout the Bible.

REFLECT & PRAY
Why is it important to recognize each portion of Scripture as a fragment of God’s bigger story?

Father, please help me to see You and Your work more clearly.

Grow deeper in your understanding of the Bible.

Joel Osteen 1st September 2021 Daily Devotional – All God’s Children

Our Daily Bread 2 September 2021 Devotional Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread.

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Love always, Walter and Debbie