The Money Ministers

God Calls Us to Make Choices Before Life Gets Harder: Genesis 4:17 through 6, Matthew 2:19-3, Psalm 3

February 28, 2022 Catherine Van Der Laan Season 3 Episode 3
The Money Ministers
God Calls Us to Make Choices Before Life Gets Harder: Genesis 4:17 through 6, Matthew 2:19-3, Psalm 3
Show Notes

In today’s scripture, we see three stories: the beginning of Noah’s story, when God was furious with the wickedness of the people of the world. They had a LOT of hardship - lots of work. To remind you, God cursed humanity and caused them to work really, terribly hard for what they needed. We still have to work hard for what we need, but not always the kind of backbreaking hard work they had to do. They were looking for relief and even named Noah “This one will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, caused by the ground which Yahweh has cursed.” They were looking for comfort, but God withdrew - which we see he’s planning to do in Noah’s time - and then he floods the whole earth.

See, they didn’t turn to God in their hardship. They turned to anything that would make them feel better at the time. God called it wickedness. We’ll see that when we read the scripture. That sounds familiar to me. Does it sound familiar to you? 

In Matthew, we’re seeing the beginning of the most important ministry on earth, starting with Weird John the Baptist. In this passage, we see John calling for repentance and a heart change - sound familiar? - and warning that Jesus, the Christ, is coming with a winnowing fork. He’s coming to separate the righteous and repentant from the wicked of heart.

John is preparing people for a choice in a hard time. You see, where we are in Matthew, John’s baptizing people and Jesus is coming. His ministry starts right then. God ordains him from the sky. And John’s helping people make a choice before they have to make a choice when it gets hard in their lives. 

Psalm 3 wraps it right up. Psalm 3 is written by King David when his son Absalom tries to usurp the throne. He’s in a hard time. He’s fleeing, running for his life, and doesn’t know what will happen. 

But he DOES know the choice that he’s going to make. He BELIEVES in God, in God’s promises to him, and God’s character. He’s made a choice already - to turn to God when things get hard. He’s made a choice to rely on God for his life, his future, his family’s future, and everything he needs to live. King David, the man after God’s own heart, shows us the choice we need to make here.



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