Okay, there we go. Well, good afternoon. Good afternoon. Welcome to Coffee and devotions. I'm so glad to be with you this morning. No, it's not this morning. It's this afternoon. Surprise, surprise, I messed up. I was here at 5am or 515. I run a pretty tight ship in the morning. And when one thing goes wrong, I've got a big problem. I forgot my dongle. So my silence your cell phones please. I forgot my dongle to my computer. And so I was not able to hook up to the camera this morning. And so it didn't happen this morning. But I wanted to get on here this afternoon. So I'm not sure if you can have coffee this late in the afternoon. I certainly cannot but we can still pray and to get into God's word. Let's go ahead and pray. Father we thank you so much that whether we come to your word in the morning in the afternoon or in the evening, your spirit is still able to attend to it and that your word does not return void. So Father, we pray now that as we read your word that you would bless us, please father teach us, give us hope even in some dark and disturbing stories in Jesus's name, Amen. Okay, so we are at Genesis chapter 19. Genesis chapter 19, beginning at verse 30. With Genesis 19 has just been a horrible I mean, we want to say a horrible chapter right because the the content of it is not fun to read. It's it's downright disturbing. And so as we read it, we really have to ask ourselves, Is God really like, Why does God have this here? Right? And so, let's go ahead and read and then we'll work through this together then lot went up out of Warren, and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him, for he was afraid to dwellings or, and he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. Now the firstborn said to the younger our father is old and there is no man on earth to come into us. And as the custom of all the earth, Come, Let us make our father drink wine and, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father. So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. It happened in the next day that the firstborn said to the younger indeed, I lay with my father last night, let us make him drink wine tonight also. And you go and lie in and lie with him that we may preserve the lineage of our father. Then they made their father drink wine that night, also in the younger rose and lay with him and he did not know that she lay down or she rose, thus both the daughters a lot. Were with child by their father, the firstborn is son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the MO bytes to this day, and the younger she also bore a son and called his name Ben Amin. He is the father of the people of Amman to this day. Well, we we come to a disturbing story and we need to ask ourselves a What's this about? You What's the best verse that summarizes and see what are we called to do? Remember the whole story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis chapter 17 of Abram, pleading Abraham pleading with God that he would spare Sodom and Gomorrah if you would just find 50 righteous or 45 or 40, or 20, or 30, or 10. And there are only four that are spared. They run Lot's wife looks back, she's turned into a pillar of salt now. It's almost seems like lots got some type of PTSD or something because he doesn't want to stay in Zoar. He doesn't want to stay in any city. So instead, he and his two daughters, they go up into a mountain and they're the despicable happens. There's incest that happens the daughters get their father drunk, they give him wine. Or a Genesis chapter 18. We're not too far from Genesis chapter eight, nine. Noah's the most righteous man and even he's getting drunk after the flood. And here we have a lot and he's with his two daughters and they're getting him drunk and they're doing this pick walks. And we find that these two these two girls get their father drunk night after night. You would think after the first night that a lot would learn but we find that he's even he's not the righteous one. So we're left we're left with like this question, right? Well, who in the story is righteous? I mean, we're only we're not even at a Genesis yet and who is righteous? God, he's the only one who's righteous in this story. He's the only one who seems to be doing what is right. And even here, in the midst of this ugly store, and we we might we ought not to as Christians, whitewash this, we cannot sanitize this. We must be honest and open because the Bible gives us ugly story is not to tell us that these are the things that should happen. But these are the things that did happen. And that we have a God who even in man's depravity, and since some amazing things, despite arson, he still does. No matter how in the world, right? How are you going to find Jesus in this? How are you going to call us to something good in this? Why? I think it starts with that last paragraph. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is a father of the MO bytes to this day in verse 37. I'm going to underline that in my Bible as the best verse because that's the only verse that gives me hope in this story in a disgusting, horrible story because if we turn over to the book of Ruth and we went to the book of Ruth to chapter four, verse 16, the Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom and became a nurse to him also, the neighborhood women gave him a name saying there is a son born to Naomi, and they call it his name. Obon. He is the father of Jesse, the father of Dave and Ruth was a mo bitis. Ruth is one of these Gentiles who by faith is brought into the family of God. She marries Boaz, they have Obon Obed has Jesse. Jesse has David. And as Matthew is clear to point out to us, it is Jesus Christ who is the king. That is the promise seen. Do you see the story of the covenant of grace is still going even in this ugly disgusting story. God is working people do stupid sinful things and we need to be able to say that is wrong and horrible. incest is wrong. And yet, despite that, or in spite of that, the Lord still will not give up on his covenant. He made his promise. And somehow through this line of with lat he has this relationship with his daughter. She has a son named him Moab, and it becomes the MO bytes. And finally, generations later there would be a girl who would come from the Moabites Ruth and she would trust in Jehovah with all of her heart. And the Lord would use that story of redemption to bring about the redeemer of his people. So what are we called to do? We live in a sinful world. You live in a world where disgusting, horrible things happen. We live in a world where we're junk like this. People make messes out of their lives. And yet the hope that we have is that God is still on his throne. That he is still calling the nations to himself. The only hope I have in the sinful world with all the chaos and disturbing stories that I hear on the news and the newspaper and that happened in my own family is that the story of redemption is still going on, and that even though there is none righteous, no, not one. There is one in heaven, who is righteous. And he sent his own son that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's how he demonstrates his love. He redeems us. Even though we're sinners as the only hope I have for a story like this, I don't want to whitewash it. I don't want to make it sound better than it is. And yet somehow through this mess, the Lord is still at work. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much that even in the and just the darkness in the center of this world. That is not just utter chaos. But father though people do evil things you are bringing about your plan of redemption. Please God give us hope.
Let us walk in the light, trusting and who you are. In Jesus's name. Amen. May Lord bless you. May you trust in His promises. May you clean fast to the hope that he gives us in Jesus Christ. And I'll see you next time. Bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai