Gen 11:9-12:1, Mt 5: The Means are the Ends

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 17 May 2026, 06 March 2022 and to 614 Toronto Warehouse Mission, July 2016 by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay

This is the 2026 Version, to view the 2022 Version click here:

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2016/07/genesis-119-121-matthew-5-means-are-end.html 

To view the 2016 Toronto Version, click here:

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2022/03/gen-119-121-mt-5-means-are-ends.html 

We are on the move, as you know, to Burnaby. Now there are lots of challenges – both good and interesting – associated with that. One thing we have to be thankful for is that we are not going that far away. We are still relatively close to family and friends. 

In the books of Genesis and Exodus, when God moves people, He sends them quite far and, of course, they don’t have cars so they have to walk – or ferries, so God has to part the seas.

 

When God moves Terah in Chapter 11 of Genesis, Terah travels 950 km from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran en route to Canaan (Ur to Haran is about the same distance as from the Valley here to Banff). Terah doesn’t exactly take the most direct route; if you look at a map you will notice that Haran really isn’t on a straight line to Canaan. And Terah never quite makes it to Canaan; Terah stops in Haran (present day Turkey).

 

Next, in Chapter 12, God calls Abram to continue his father’s journey to Canaan and God doesn’t take him on the most direct route either.[1] God takes Abram all the way from modern day Iraq, which is to the east of where he is going, through the land He promised to send him to, all the way to Egypt which is to the west of his new appointment, before he comes all the way back east to settle in Canaan, modern day Palestine. This journey is around 2000 km on foot (which is a little further than Moose Jaw where Don just got back from - It is probably actually about the same distance as walking to the community of Indian Head on the other side of Regina).

 

A couple of generations and a few chapters later, after God appoints Abraham to Canaan, God moves Jacob all the way from Canaan to Mesopotamia (Iraq, which is where his grandfather is from) and then moves him all the way to Egypt where Jacob dies.

 

Now, we know the book ‘Exodus’ and the story of Moses: when Moses receives his orders to move, he is supposed to take Jacob’s whole family (the Israelites) with him – and there are a lot of them! – and instead of walking straight from Egypt to Canaan, Moses and Jacob’s family, the Israelites, do laps around the desert. They even get right to the border of the new appointment, the land God promised to send them to, when God and Moses say to them, ‘no you can’t go in’; so they spend the next 40 years doing laps, wandering around the desert.

  

During this journey of many miles and more generations, God is with His people: Terah, Abram, Jacob, Moses and more. It is that time spent with God that we know about so much more than what their destinations looked like because the journey with God is what’s important. Some of these people never did reach their penultimate destination.

 

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. points out that life is not about the destination; it is about the journey.  In much of his writings there is a related point the reverend keeps coming back to that really resonates with me. His opponents accused him of being a communist. Of course, in the USA during the Cold War (where and when he is from) this was often an accusation rich people would make about civil rights activists because Americans were genuinely afraid of communism – every time they turned around it appeared one country after another was throwing off the yoke of imperialism; they were afraid a worldwide revolution might strike America.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. did come in contact with many people who were instrumental in liberating countries from capitalism. He fought for a lot of the communist-embraced values of which the USA of his day was opposed: equal rights for women, equality for ethnic minorities, sweeping economic reform... [3] When people pointed out to MLK that, as far as the USA was concerned, these were communist ideas; MLK would reply that he differs from the communists in one key way. “Lenin” [Vladimir, not John], he said, “believed that the end justified the means.” As a Christian I can never believe that the ends justify the means. God reminds us that the means are the end – your means, what you do reveal who you are in the end. Do the ends justify the means? That is not even possible: the means themselves are the end.

 

For example, if we want to end excessive incarceration and violent oppression by violently throwing off our oppressors and incarcerating them then– intentionally or not- we will naturally find ourselves becoming the violent oppressors.[4] Anyone who has ever seriously studied patterns in world history will note that this is true whenever a remnant survives. This is one reason why the Middle East is in tumult, and this is one reason why the US is in so much turmoil that countries even prior to Trump’s second term were officially warning their citizens not to travel to the USA.[5] Look at the word today. Violence breeds violence. The ends do not justify the means. As Gandhi, whom MLK loved to quote, said, ‘an eye for and eye makes the whole world blind.’ 

Do the ends justify the means? No, the means are the ends [5.5]. If we want the world to see the truth, then we need to help our adversary see! Not pluck out his eye! For if we pluck out his eye; as he is able, he will do the same to us, and then we will be left as a couple of blind bullies. Gandhi, like Tutu and Mandela after him, is a great example of helping our adversary to see. A society at peace with its former oppressors was created in South Africa in a way it never would have been through violence. The means of violence always brings the result of violence. The means of peace is what brings the result of peace. And Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

 

Do the ends justify the means? No, the means are the ends. Oswald Chamber says, ‘God is not working toward a particular finish - His purpose is the process itself.’[6] Returning to one of our examples from the Pentateuch: God was walking miles upon miles with people who never did reach their destination during the Exodus. The people whine and complain to God a lot about their travels. They want a different means to achieve their ends. They want the direct route. Sometimes they get so upset at the means by which God is leading them that they just want to abandon it altogether because His means, they think, are too difficult a way to achieve His ends.

Do we remember Numbers, in Chapter 14, the story of the Israelites on the precipice of the Promised Land: it was theirs for the taking?[7] God had provided the end. God just wanted them to join Him in the means. The Israelites refused the Lord’s means. God responded, therefore, Verse 30: ‘Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua...

 

There is more to this story too. After they reject God’s means to the end of this promised land, the Israelites attempt to obtain that very same end, by their own means, without God.  Numbers 14:41: But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD’s command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.” And they did. 

The end in and of itself, even when it is God-ordained like it was here, is not the important part; what is important is the God-enabled means. Matthew 16:26: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:26, Luke 9:25). Do the ends justify the means? No. The ends are the means.

 

Jesus tells us very much the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. To transliterate through the lens of means and ends the pericope we read earlier, Jesus said,

You all know the goal, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But let me tell you about the means to that end: don’t even walk down that road; anyone who even gets angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.

And you all know that, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who even starts to explore those means by so much as looking at a woman lustfully might as well have already committed the end of adultery with her in his heart. 

 

You all know about ‘an eye for eye, and a tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This is the means by which you will rid yourself of your enemy. If you act like an enemy, you are an enemy. If you act like a friend, you are a friend. The ends don’t justify the means. The means are the ends.

You all know the end, ‘Do not break your oath but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But the means here is the important part: you should not even need to swear an oath in the first place.  You should be honest in every part of your life so that whatever you say - whether you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or anything else - it is just as good as an oath even on the Bible or on your mother's grave. Telling the truth makes you an honest person. You cannot lie your way to honesty. The white lie, the harmless lie, the permissible lie does not exist. Do the ends justify the means? No, the means are the ends.

 

If we walk along the path of sin hoping to reach holiness we will be sadly disappointed. Conversely if we never walk towards sin, we will never arrive at sin. Do the ends justify the means? No. The means are the end.  Oswald Chambers again: ‘God is not working toward a particular finish - His purpose is the process itself.’

He who walks in the darkness does not see the light and she who walks in the light does not get lost in the darkness. Do the means justify the ends? No. The means are the ends.

 

This is true in our daily lives with each other, and it is just as true with our relationship with God. Jesus and Salvation aren’t about a destination, an end of going to heaven when we die; Salvation is the means of how we live with God from today unto eternity. Salvation isn’t an end, a destination to arrive at; it is a means, a way of life. So, can we do evil as a way to try to enter heaven? No. Do the ends ever justify the means? No, the means are the end. The means, which are ultimately our very relationship with our neighbour and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, is all that matters. He is with us and He wants us to walk with Him and talk with Him both now and forever. And that is the means by which you and I can live the most blessed life both for now and forever.

 

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com 

 

Daniel 2 (Genesis 41): Dreaming of Heaven - Rock on!

 Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, 17 January 2026, by Major Michael 

 

A few hundred years before Daniel and in a different country, Joseph had a similar experience to his. I find it interesting that Joseph interprets his dream in Egypt just before Israel (Israel is Joseph’s dad) becomes a country in the narrative (a few hundred years in chronology) and Daniel interprets his dream in Babylon (607 BCE) just before Israel/Judah ceases to exist as a country (586 BCE). These dreams are like book ends for the existence, the story of the country of Israel/Judah.

 

Reading from Gensis 41:14-36 (NIV):

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

 

Now, it is important to note before we compare these dreams that, though there were Judeans, Samaritans and others during the Roman Empire a few hundred years later, the nation of Israel/Judah, after the Babylonian conquest, had already ceased to be an independent country– never to rise again (with the possible exception of the time of the Maccabees) until Christ returns with the New Jerusalem at the eschaton. The country that calls itself Israel today is NOT the ancient Israelites. Today’s Israelis are predominately Eastern Europeans who set up their apartheid regime in 1948, the same year as the Western Europeans set up their apartheid regime in South Africa. These stories of Joseph and Daniel really are book ends on the life of the country of Israel.

 

In Genesis 41, you will notice that Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream was that in the good / prosperous times he, and by extension, we should save from our excess for when lean times follow. But more than that – just like all the people’s land and possessions belonged to Pharaoh, so too all the land in the world really belongs to God. The Bible is clear about this especially in Leviticus 25 (among other places) where Israel is reminded to honour the sabbatical years and the Year of Jubilee. Sabbatical years were years when the land was supposed to rest like the people were supposed to rest on Sabbath days. And Years of Jubilee were when debts were to be forgiven; and slaves and indentured servants were to be set free. Pharaoh's dream can be seen as, in part, laying out the blueprint for the foundation of the Kingdom of God. It shows us what God’s Dominion looks like: everything belongs to YHWH; we forgive one another, and the captives are set free.

 

That Pharaoh’s dream is about more than just saving wisely for a rainy day can be shown by Luke in his gospel (Lk 12:13-21). He recounts Jesus’ parable of the man who saved for his retirement and then had his life demanded of him before he could access the savings. Israel, likewise, like us, and like Adam and Eve, was supposed to care for the land and the people. Because they didn’t, they were removed from the land (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:20-21). This was a warning that Israel was given from the very beginning – even before they were a country and their failure to love God, the land, and their neighbour; led to God taking their promised land and giving it to someone else. This brings us to our passage today. Daniel Chapter 2.

 

When asked to tell Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was, the Chaldeans answered, Verse 11, “What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.” This is neat: the Chaldeans were correct. Only Jesus, the True God, can reveal this meaning and only Jesus, the True God, did live among men! (and He’s coming back!)

 

Daniel also shares this gospel; he says, Verses 27-28, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.”

 

But first, Verses 14-23, before Daniel has this conversation with the king, he steps out in faith, speaks to the guard, and then speaks to the king, and then he prays. He goes to his house and tells his friends about what is needed and they pray. They pray for mercy and during the night God gives Daniel a vision of the dream and the interpretation. Daniel thanks and praises God and asks the captain of the guard to stop the executions of the wise men and take him to the king. They give Glory to God and Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar his dream and what it means. Verses 37-38, “Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.”

 

This is reminiscent, reflective of how God had given Pharaoh charge over Egypt and the land Israel occupied. This is reflective of how Israel was to care for the land they were promised. This is reflective of how the Amorites were responsible for that land prior to Israel and it notes in the text that Nebuchadnezzar is now (in his day) responsible for the land; It is also reflective of how Adam and Eve were given the land to care for but it was taken away from them for their disobedience / unfaithfulness; and it was later taken from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Israelites, and it will be taken from Nebuchadnezzar's successors as well.

 

There will come a time though, when, Verse 44: “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” We know what the Kingdom - like the Mountain in the dream - is that will endure forever, never be destroyed or given to another people. That is the Kingdom of God. Isaiah 9: 6-7 speaks of this Kingdom and, the rock its ruler:

“For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end."

 

We celebrated Christmas less than a month ago, the purpose of which is to celebrate the birth of Jesus the King and look forward to the full realization of His Kingdom! His birth was the rock being cut from the mountain. The mountain, His Kingdom will never end and there will always be peace! When Jesus returns with the New Jerusalem at the eschaton this will all be complete. And until that time, as His citizens, we need to keep serving our King.

 

Like Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, the Amorites, Jacob, and Adam and Eve were all supposed to do: we need to take care of the earth, everything, and everyone in it; we need to forgive debts and others and  we need to neither hoard nor sell God’s possessions for a profit but rather share with everyone in need all that God has given us stewardship over.

 

My friends, this is what we, like our foreparents, are called to do, and my friends this is what you, each of you here, with your individual, collective, and corporate ministries have been doing very well; and this my friends is what I pray we will be faithful to do until that day when the mountain in the king’s dream has finally reached its full height and the Rock of our Salvation, the True King of Kings, returns with the new Jerusalem to rule over us forever and ever. Amen.

 

Let us pray

 

 

 

Genesis 39:2a: Prosperity

 Presented to Swift Current Corps, July 10, 2011
(https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/07/genesis-392a-lord-was-with-joseph-and.html )
 
Presented to TSA AV Ministries, 18 May 2025 (here)
By Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay

 

We have had some busy family times this month. Susan and I just had our 27^th Anniversary. We have often called this our ‘famiversary’ and involve our children. We were in Victoria this weekend and stayed with Susan’s mom. The week before was Mother’s Day and Susan drove Down Island to she Sarah-Grace after spending the morning with us. The week previous was my birthday – my parents drove all the way up to Nanaimo from Sidney (after picking up Sarah-Grace from Victoria) just to have dinner with us for an hour or so. And a week or so before that Susan and I stopped in on Rebecca in Chilliwack on our way to a conference. It has been a busy family time.

 

Joseph, in the Bible, and his family certainly had some interesting times together. This was Joseph’s family growing up: Joseph’s dad’s given name, ‘Jacob’, means ‘deceiver’ and he lived up to his name. He caused problems with his brother and didn’t get along with his in-laws; Joseph’s mom was a thief – not only that – what she stole were idols of foreign gods. Joseph’s dad had children with a number of different women and Joseph’s oldest brother had an affair with the mother of his half-brothers. Another brother of Joseph’s ran into problems involving a prostitution scandal by which he, in essence, fathered his own grandchildren. Two more brothers of Joseph trick and murder a whole community’s males before the rest of his brothers carry off all the females and their children as well as all their possessions. If you think your family growing up was a little messed up, Joseph can give you a run for your money. But remember that, though this may not seem like a great life, still to come in our story is Genesis 39:2a which states, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.”

 

Looking at Genesis 37: Joseph is no longer a child. He is a young man of 17 years old. Now 17 – even if some people don’t think so today – in those days was plenty old enough to be carrying your own weight. People would often be starting their own families by then. Not Joseph. Joseph was a little bit spoiled (Genesis 37:3,4). Joseph was younger than most of his brothers but there was no physical reason that we know of as to why Joseph (who was 17!) couldn’t be out in the fields working with his brothers all day but he wasn’t and not only was he not working like his brothers but when he had the opportunity, it says –Genesis 37:2- he tattled on his brothers. He told on them. But still to come, Genesis 39:2a, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.”

 

And there is more: Not only did Joseph report on his brothers to his dad but Joseph’s dad made no bones about the fact that Joseph was his favourite son; so while Jacob sent his older boys out to work for a living he lavished at least one fancy gift on Joseph (a coat of many colours, ornamental robe, or a long-sleeved garment depending on your translation) [4] who he let stay around the house while his older brothers worked for the family – and hard outside work at that!

 

Now Joseph’s brothers, after we find out that Joseph is spoiled and Joseph reports on them, tells on them; Genesis 37:4 states that “when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” So the family relations are heating up a little bit. There is more than a little bit of understandable rivalry between Joseph and all his half-brothers.

 

It is in this context that Joseph, this privileged son, has some dreams. These dreams’ – which have the apparently obvious interpretation that his whole family, including his brothers and his father will bow down to him – are fine; but maybe not so wise is the fact that Joseph tells his brothers and his dad the dreams. As you can imagine, this does not go over quite so well with his brothers. Genesis 37:8b “…and they hated him all the more because of his dream AND what he said to them.” His brothers had absolutely had it with him; so, when a while later their dad sends Joseph from home to find them at work they decide to take action. They have had enough. They take him, throw him into a pit to decide whether they are finally going to kill him or not. Remember – as least two of his brothers have murdered people before (Genesis 34:25). It is then that some slave traders happen by, and the brothers decide to take advantage of the situation and they sell their brother into slavery, just telling their father that he is dead. The human traffickers, the slave traders turn around and sell him into slavery with an Egyptian official.[5] He is 17 (maybe 18 by now) and about to begin a life of slavery. It is at this point that we run across our verse. It is at this point that the verse that we keep coming back to appears in the narrative; Genesis 39:2a, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.”

 

Joseph’s family life, as we have been discussing, was not the greatest but as one can imagine, a terrible home life probably beats being a slave in a foreign country - but it is as a slave where it records, Genesis 39:2, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” This is key. This prosperity is not wealth. He is a slave. This prosperity is not luxury. He is a slave. This prosperity is not freedom to do what he wants when he wants. He is a slave. Joseph is a teenager who has been sold into slavery in a foreign country – where I imagine he doesn’t yet even know the language. He is a slave completely against his will without even specified terms for release. This is the condition that he is in when and where it records that, Genesis 39:2a, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.”

 

Let me tell you some more about this prosperity.[6] While Joseph is a slave, his master’s wife takes a liking to him. She wants to fool around with him – have an affair. Joseph will have none of this and spends much of his time trying to avoid her. She finally gets so upset at him for not giving into her advances that she accuses him of sexual assault and has Joseph thrown into prison. This is what it looks like in the house of his Egyptian master when and where it says that the LORD was with Joseph and he prospered.

 

Next, Joseph is sitting in prison in a foreign country charged with a crime that he didn’t commit with no specified length or end to his sentence. This prison, while it was reserved for prisoners of important people, was no 21st century Canadian prison (not that these are a picnic by any means) - there is no TV, no Charter of Rights and Freedoms, no early parole; just a dark dungeon, or a pit as some translations (KJV, ESV) refer to it, where you live out your days with the other prisoners. This is what it looks like when, Genesis 39:2a, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.” This is what his prosperity looked like. No money, no luxury, no freedom, just slavery and then just sitting in a dungeon (or pit) in a foreign country with no hope of parole for a crime he didn’t commit. How many of us would consider this prosperity? I want us to remember this to the next time someone that believes the prosperity heresy tells us that when you are a good Christian you won’t get sick and you will always have all the money and freedom that you want. It is not true. That is NOT what God’s prosperity looks like.

 

What God’s prosperity in our lives looks like is when God’s work is being done through us.[7] Joseph prospered with no money, no luxury, no freedom, just sitting in a dungeon (or a pit) in a foreign country with no hope of parole for a crime he didn’t commit. Genesis 23b reiterates directly in the prison context, just like in the slavery context, so that we don’t forget, “that LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” And this success and this prosperity are mentioned after he was sold into slavery and then when he is spending time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The Lord’s blessing on Joseph is NOT mentioned in the context of his being released from slavery and prison. His prosperity is noted in the 13 years (almost half his life to this point) that he spends in slavery and later confined in prison.

 

This is significant. It doesn’t tell us that he prospered and that the LORD was with him when he was the favourite son of a well-to-do herdsman who received special attention, fancy clothes, and pampering from his dad. The author of Genesis doesn’t specifically say that the Lord was with Joseph and that he prospered when he was riding in the chariot alongside Pharaoh and receiving all the benefits and privileges of being second in command in the entire Egyptian empire. It says that he prospered when he was in slavery and it says that the Lord gave him success when he was in prison. Success and God’s prosperity is not financial well-being and a self-indulgent, easy life at all. What prosperity is, is when God’s work is being done. When Joseph is worshiping, serving, and giving credit to God in the midst of his suffering is where we hear of the LORD’s blessing and where we see Joseph’s real heart of worship.

 

I think that this is important for us today as we worship the Lord. We need to recognize the really tough times -when we are in the pits of our lives- as opportunities to be encouraged to serve and to worship the Lord. These times are not definitely Divine punishment; these times are definitely not times of being forsaken by the LORD. God promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5). What God’s prosperity in our lives looks like is when God’s work is being done through us. So when we are in the dungeons and pits of our lives, when life is its most challenging, when we are completely overwhelmed and when we cannot solve our problems on our own, if we take the focus off our predicament and off of our own selfish desires (as legitimate as they maybe) and if we instead concentrate on the LORD and fully trust and worship Him; if we do this then I believe that we will find that even in these times of trouble and distress that –like Joseph – we will see the LORD is with us and that we will prosper in our worship and in our relationship with God even and especially in our very trying times.

Let us pray.

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[1] Bil Keene, The Family Circus, Available on-line at www.familycircus.com

[2] Cf. Fredrick C. Holmgren, “Holding Your Own Against God! Genesis 32:22-32 (In the Context of Genesis 31-33),” Interpretation: a Journal of Bible and Theology 44, no. 4 (1990): 5-17. It may not just be family discord that kept them separate. It may have been a desire to maintain the benefits of his independence, birthright and blessing. If his family intermingled too closely with the larger Edomite populations they ran the risk of being absorbed into Esau. This also could be a reason God kept them apart.

[3] Cf. Michael Ramsay "Word Study: to bless, blessing (Hebrew: brk)," Presented to William and Catherine Booth College (Fall 2005). Avail on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./Word_Studies_Michael_Ramsay.htm#blessing 

[4] T. Desmond Alexander, ESV Study Bible on-line. Note on Genesis 37:3: The Hebrew expression used to denote this cloak is used elsewhere only of a garment worn by King David's daughter Tamar (see 2 Sam. 13:18). The actual design of the cloak is uncertain; as the esv footnote explains, the translation here is based on the understanding of the Septuagint translators (Gk. poikilos, “many-coloured”). The alternative is “a robe with long sleeves” (cf. the text and esv footnote of 2 Sam. 13:18, which uses the same Hebrew expression). Available at: http://www.esvbible.org

[5] Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1967 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 1), S. 196: On the name Potiphar, recognizably Egyptian, see the brief discussion in The New Bible Dictionary  (ed. J. D. Douglas et al., 1962). Officer is strictly ‘eunuch’, but the term became a general synonym for ‘courtier’. The translation captain of the guard is debatable but probably right. The alternative is ‘chief butcher’, supported by etymology (from the verb ‘to slaughter’, as in 43:16; cf. 1 Sam. 9:23f., ‘the cook’), also by lxx and by the use of a similar title in Egyptian for a kind of major-domo (J. Vergote, Joseph en Égypte, Louvain 1959, pp. 31–35). Captain of the guard, however, accords with Potiphar’s command of the prison (40:3f.) and is clearly correct in 2 Kings 25:8.

[6] John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Genesis/Exposition of Genesis/VI. The Account of Jacob (37:1-49:33)/E. Joseph in the House of Potiphar (39:1-23), Book Version: 4.0.2: This is not a story of the success of Joseph; rather it is a story of God's faithfulness to his promises.

[7] John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Genesis/Exposition of Genesis/VI. The Account of Jacob (37:1-49:33)/E. Joseph in the House of Potiphar (39:1-23), Book Version: 4.0.2

Genesis 1-3, Matthew 28, 1 Corinthians 15: He is Risen!

Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, Resurrection Easter Sunday by Major Michael Ramsay, 20 April 2025.

He is risen! (He is risen indeed!)

 

Easter is the most important date on the Christian Calendar. Do we know why it is the most important date? What are we celebrating? (the resurrection of Jesus) Why does this matter? (it means we can all be raised from the dead)

 

We read the story of Mary and Mary at the tomb today. I think that is a very important story about the first Christian evangelists and preachers: Two women proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Do we know the rest of the story?

 

At the very beginning of the Bible, in the first few chapters of the first book in this holy anthology, we have the story of how God created the heavens and the earth. God created it all and it was perfect. Not only were there no bad things like murder, stealing, lying, etc. There was also no injury, no illness, no decay, no death. Even the trees didn’t die. The animals didn’t eat each other. It was paradise – it was the Garden of Eden.

 

Then the very first people that God created did something – they disobeyed God. This was the first badness to enter the world. The first sin. From that point on all that erodes life and goodness flowed into the world. Not only bad behaviours but also decay of plants, animals, and people; injury, illness and death.

 

The Bible then, as we know, has many books in the Old Testament that tell how people interacted with each other and God ever since. Mostly – but not entirely – after a certain point, the books speak about the family and descendants of Jacob who was called Israel. Many of these books are looking forward to a time when the world will no longer be in the state that it is in – when everything will be finally made right.

 

There are many recorded memories of God’s interaction with people, giving us a glimpse into when and how things might possibly return. Under and after Moses there is the Law that is given to God’s people to help us know how to relate to each other – in short it can be boiled down to, as Jesus later said, ‘love God and love your neighbour’ – while we are waiting for everything to be set right.

 

Before that even, God and Abraham make an agreement, recorded in Genesis Chapter 12, that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through Abraham and then in Genesis 15 we get our first glimpse of the cross. There is a ceremony, a covenant and God basically says that if mankind messes up again, like they did in the garden, God will take the punishment, He will die. We do mess up. On Good Friday He does.

 

The word ‘gospel’ that we still use today means, ‘good news’. On Easter – a few days later - we have the Good News. Yes God, Jesus, died. He went to the grave. But then something happened. He came back to life – and when he came back to life, he came back with a body that no longer decays, no longer experiences illness, no longer experiences death. He is the first person to experience life back like it was in the Garden of Eden.

 

Now, I say first ‘person’ for a reason. Jesus is God. Jesus is also a person. He is fully, truly and properly God and he is fully, truly and properly human. At Christmas we celebrate God becoming human – He, who was around at the creation of the world, was also, much later, born. On Good Friday he dies. On Easter He has the first fully resurrected body. His body will now never die, never get sick, never get injured. And when he overcame death on Easter, he really overcame it – not just for himself but for everyone. Jesus never died after his resurrection (like others who have risen from the dead). He went away for a while; but he will come back.

 

When he comes back, he will bring with him the Tree of Life that was in the Garden of Eden and the whole world will be made anew. We spoke about this a few weeks ago while we were looking at Romans 5, Genesis 3, and Revelation 22 where the ultimate return of God is recorded.

 

So that is what we are celebrating today: the first fruits of the resurrection, that the world is set right, and the path has been paved for Jesus’ return. On Easter, God made a way so that we never need to die (again). The Bible says that when he returns, even those who are already dead will raise from the grave and they will never die again and those who are still alive will be changed, healed, transformed into these never decaying, never dying entities that love fully both God and our neighbour forever.

 

Today, as we celebrate His victory over death, decay, and sin; We are even now awaiting Jesus’ return. While we wait, we are we are told a couple of things to do

1.     Never forget what he has done for us and that he will return.

a.     In the Bible they meet regularly over a meal to remember Jesus.

b.     Now we meet on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, and at other occasions, as well as have other ceremonies, to remember what the Lord has done and what we have to look forward to.

 

2.     And the other thing we need to do is to share the love of God with others. We can do this by telling others about God while we take care of one another.

 

So today, as we are celebrating Jesus’ resurrection to eternal life and awaiting his return when the whole world will be set right, let us do our part.

 

God has provided enough to feed, clothe, and shelter everyone in the world; He has given us this beautiful earth to take care of – and He asks nothing more of us that to love Him and take care of each other until He returns  - let us do that until he returns, for when he comes back there will be no more death, no more decay, no more sorrow, no more sadness; only joy, peace and wholeness because He has risen! (He has risen, indeed)

 

Let us Pray

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Genesis 2:15-3:24, Matthew 28:1-20, Revelation 22:1-5: Life and Death and Creation.

Presented to the Community Dinner at the Friendship Center by Major Michael Ramsay, 19 April 2025.

 

Hello,

I am Major Michael Ramsay from The Salvation Army. As well as running The Salvation Army, the Bread of Life Soup Kitchen, shelter and The Salvation Army thrift store, I am a Christian pastor / teacher. This weekend is Easter. That is the most important time on the Christian Calendar.

Christians acknowledge Jesus as God. Our teachings tell us that God, as creator, created the whole world. And when He did it was perfect. Not only did we not harm each other, ourselves or the earth; but we never got sick, we never got injured; and the earth itself – the trees did not fall to the ground and die. Animals did not eat animals. All of creation was in perfect harmony. The Creator even walked in this Garden He created with people He created.

Then something happened. The first people created made a choice.  Because of this choice, death, decay, harm and hurt entered the world. Where there was none before, now there was illness, injury and death for all of creation. Plants, animals and all that is given life now dies. Since that day, Creator would like nothing less than to get us back to what was our life was like in the Garden: with no more death, no more decay.

Today is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. On Good Friday 2000 years ago something happened: God died. Creator died. Jesus died. Today is called low Saturday. How would you feel if we were around when God died?

Tomorrow is Easter. On Easter God, Jesus, Creator rose from the dead. He came to life again. He vanquished death. He defeated it. That is why we celebrate on Easter: we can get back to the Garden. By overcoming death, Jesus ended the decay, death and disease that came to the world and as a result when Creator returns to earth no one will ever die; no plant will ever decay; no animal will ever eat another… there will be no more blindness, no more deafness, no more addiction, no more violence, no more pain, no more sorrow. Only goodness. Only wholeness.

In the Christian faith, everyone who wants to serve the creator is invited to live and help others live like this today by providing for those in need until the day arrives when there is no more need. Our sacred book, the Bible, even tells us the ‘Sheep and Goats’ story: that the nations which take care of the vulnerable will be with the creator forever in the new world and those who don’t, won’t.

The Bible often compares life with Creator, Jesus, to a banquet, a feast, a meal, like we have here today – where everyone is invited: the rich, the poor, the old, the young, the widow, the foreigner, the stranger, the… everyone.

Today… Who has been here at the Friendship Centre before? Who has been here a lot and feels at home, comfortable here? I invite you to look out for the new people, the stranger, our guests – those who you have not seen around here before. I invite you to – on behalf of Creator – make the people who have not been here before feel comfortable. Extend to them the Creator’s hand of friendship. Let our guests know that we are happy they are here with us for when we welcome the stranger, the foreigner in the Creator’s name, we are indeed welcoming in the Creator Himself.

Let us pray

Genesis 2:15-3:24, Romans 5:11-18, Revelation 22:1-5: Back to the Garden

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, Port Alberni BC, 28 July 2019 by Major Michael Ramsay and 30 March 2025

 

This is the 2025 version; to view the 2019 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/07/genesis-215-3-back-to-garden.html

Doctrine 5: We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall, all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God.

…and/but…

Doctrine 6: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will, may be saved.

 

Doctrine 5 has been referred to as the doctrine of Original Sin (or more precisely ‘originating sin’) and that concept goes back at least to Irenaeus and Augustine. Doctrines 5 & 6 are how TSA explains corporate (as opposed to individual) Salvation; Corporate Salvation is like getting back to the Garden of Eden – what life was like before the Fall.

 

This is the garden. Reading from Genesis 2:15-18:

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

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

 

Then this is what happened there, Genesis 3:1-6:

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord 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 serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but 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 serpent 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

 

And as a result of this first/original sin, Genesis 3:21-24:

²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become 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 forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After 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.

 

Salvation can be understood then like humanity getting back to the Garden. Salvation is about people and even all of creation returning to our original full and proper relationship with God. In Revelation Chapter 22 it speaks about us being restored to be in the very presence of the Tree of Life (which was in the garden!) and of God Himself.

 

Some people have asked why do we need to be restored? Why do we need to get back? Why were we kicked out, punished for what Adam and Eve did anyway? I never ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge; how come I have to suffer their consequences? I look at the consequences of the original sin like this: Our lives are affected by the choices of Adam and Eve, our original parents, in much the same way that our lives are affected by the choices of our biological or custodial parents and their parents before them. Adam and Eve were evicted and moved from the Garden of Eden; therefore, their children - Cain, Abel, and Seth - weren’t born in the Garden of Eden.

 

I was born and Susan and I were raised on Vancouver Island here – like Adam and Eve were created and raised in Eden. However, Heather was born and our eldest two daughters were mostly raised in Saskatchewan and then Toronto. We left the Island before Sarah-Grace was one year old for our work with The Salvation Army. It wasn’t sin that caused us to move away – like it was with Adam and Eve – but our children had no more say over the fact that they were raised and away from the Island than Cain, Abel, and Seth did that they were raised away from Eden. As our children live with the results of our actions –both good and bad: a life of serving the Lord but also growing up without family nearby – so we all live with the results of our ancestors’ actions – not just moving from one place to another – but the results of all kinds of choices they made over the years: our parents, our grandparents, and their parents, all the way back to our original parents. That is why and how we are suffering the consequences of originating sin. Does that make sense?

 

Walter Bruggemann, one of the foremost OT scholars, has noted that Adam and Eve’s perfect fear here cast out love (Genesis 3:10) and notes that as Jesus sets everything right, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18-20).[1]          

 

This is the Adamic Covenant. The Bible also speaks about the way in which we can return to perfect love, to the Garden, to Eden. In Genesis 15, through the ceremony of the smoking firepot and the Abrahamic Covenant, we are shown that God (Jesus Christ) will give up His life in consequence of humankind transgressing that agreement with Him; and then Jesus’ death will lead to our Salvation insofar as Jesus receives the consequences for those actions (that of humanity at the time of Abraham, and at the time of Adam, and more) [2] – thus making it possible for us to return to what life was like in the garden.

 

Doctrine 6 of The Salvation Army reads: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved.

 

Good Friday and Easter is all about this and In the New Testament we are told a little bit about this. A few people today have some scriptures to read for us:

·       Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

·       1 Peter 2:24: “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

·       Romans 5:6: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

·       Romans 5:17-18: For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.

·       1 John 2:2: He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Again:

·       Galatians 3:13 says Jesus became a curse by dying on the cross

·       1 Peter 2:24 says that He bore our sins and we are healed

·       Romans 5:6 says that He who was righteous died for we who were unrighteous

·       Romans 5:17-18 says that Jesus’ death and resurrection reconciles us all, undoing Adam’s death and banishment.

·       1 John 2:2 says that this atonement was for the whole world, all of creation.[3]

 

And let me read from near the end of the concluding book in this more than a Divine anthology, the Bible. Revelation 22:1-5 speaks about at the end of our age when God will come down with Heaven in the New Jerusalem and there once again will be the Tree of Life (from Eden), freely available to all of us:

 

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

 

Even though sin and death entered into the world through Adam and Eve and we have been living life outside of the garden, Jesus is the light, and because of Good Friday and Easter morning and more He is returning and bringing back with Him when He does at the eschaton, the Tree of Life from Eden.

 

This is what Easter is about. Last time I spoke we chatted about the Mosaic Covenant and the Law. Jesus died on the cross so that we can return to a time before we even had the Law. Jesus died so that we could return to a time before there was even sin; the Law was trying to mitigate sin’s consequences for us. Jesus’ death completes the Mosaic Law. Jesus’ death fulfills the covenant with Abraham. Jesus’ resurrection removes the cherubim and flaming sword from the Garden of Eden. As Jesus has entered new life for eternity so can we; we can re-enter the garden. We can be welcomed back into the garden and see and experience the Tree of Life and reign with Jesus forever. This was made possible through the resurrection and is what we celebrate at Easter.

 

Would you like to reign with God forever? Do you want to be in the eternal city, with the Tree from the Garden of Eden, where there is no more sin, no more hate, no more death, no more deceit; no more decay, no more sorrow, where everyone is honest, and everyone is loving, and serving our Lord? Do you want to? You can. Jesus provided for our Salvation between the Cross and the empty tomb on Good Friday and Easter morning and we can start experiencing the beginning of that very Salvation even today which lasts forever in the eternal Garden of Eden.

 

Today, as we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and leader, we can in essence make our way back to the Garden. If we would like to live forever in this place, where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more sin, no more hate, no more death, no more deceit; where we are honest and loving and serving our Lord, we can. All we need to do is ask - Jesus has already done the rest.

 

Let us pray.

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[1] Walter Bruggemann, Genesis (Interpretation: Westminster John Knox Press, 1982), p 53

[2] Captain Michael Ramsay, Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today, (Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./ptl4covenants.htm

[3] Cf. Terence E. Fretheim, The Book of Genesis, (NIB I: Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1994), 369.