Calling the Remnant Out (Advent 8, 2022)

Terah is among the most famous Scripture-identified infidels.  I try to imagine what that would be like.  How embarrassing!  God Himself records for the entire world’s population in perpetuity that Terah was an idolater (Joshua 24:2).  Terah worshiped foreign gods and now anyone and everyone knows his guilt.

But then, what kind of grace it shows in his son being chosen out of the whole world’s population to be given the covenant promises of God and that Terah’s name, too, would appear in the line of Christ.

34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah (to patiently breathe), the son of Nahor (snore or snorting, charred or scorched, or noble or freeman), 35 the son of Serug (branch), the son of Reu (pasture, neighbor), the son of Peleg (channel, divide), Luke 3:34-35

As this genealogy is working its forward in the text (Christ to Adam), we’re tracing it written backward from Adam to Christ.  Now we are beginning to see the grace of God in the remnant of His choosing, nowhere more powerfully than with the great patriarchs of the Jewish faith.  Out of Terah’s family of idolatry, a son (Abraham) carries the covenant promise and remnant of grace into the future.  The patriarchs would be those whom Jesus would have known as integral to His Judaism and faith traditions. 

It’s imperative that we understand Jesus was raised with the Torah (the 5 Books of the Law of Moses, also called the “Pentateuch”), the Ketuvim (the Writings), and the Nevi’im (the Prophets), all-together called by modern Jews “The Tanakh”.  It was Jesus’ Bible, passed along as scrolls of pure Scripture.  And it was given to the Jews, including Jesus.

Questions for further thought:

In what way can the religious practice of the father (in this case Terah) influence those of his children?

What responsibilities do parents have in helping cultivate their children’s understanding of doctrine and biblical instruction?  Are parents held to account for the outcome of their children or does each person’s faith stand alone?

Why might it be significant that out of a community that practices idolatry, God would reach in and create a covenant remnant for Himself and His glory? How will He reach in a second time to gather the elect?

Prayer:

Thank You that we were created for Your glory, and You can bring us home no matter how far the ends of the earth we’ve wandered.  Turn our eyes toward You.  Help us to repent of any ways You find offensive.  We thank You for Your reassurance when You said, 5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth–7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:5-7). Amen.

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Advent began Sunday, November 27, 2022 and continues to Saturday, December 24th as we explore the remnant spoken of in Scripture and awaken as the end draws near.

 By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily “Awaken, Remnant” devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

• The multi-faceted Interlude between the promise of a Deliverer and the birth of our Messiah and King was the theme of 2021’s devotional series. It is archived beginning November 28, 2021.
• 2020’s Devotional Series Divine Intervention began on November 29, 2020 and explored God’s activity on behalf of a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.
• God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
• Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
• The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
• The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
• The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
• Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
• The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
• The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.