“Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” Genesis 6:1-2
Before the LORD God destroyed the world with a flood because the people of this world had turned away from Him and no longer walked in His ways, the believers took wives from among the daughters of the unbelieving, leading to more and more families turning away from faith in the true God to unbelief and sin.
Give to Your children, O LORD, wisdom to choose a spouse who believes in Your promises and walks in Your ways so that they may bring up their children “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4) and not in the ways of this evil and dying world. Amen.
“What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made.” Galatians 3:19
If we cannot keep the law as God requires or be acceptable in His sight by our obedience, what is the purpose of the law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai? “It was added because of transgressions.” Not only does it curb course outbursts of sin; it also reveals our utter sinfulness so that we might place our faith solely in Christ Jesus, the promised Seed of Abraham. It then also guides us in living for our Savior.
Your law condemns me, O God. Grant to me pardon and forgiveness through faith in the death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in my stead, and move me, with the help and aid of Your Spirit, to live in accord with Your holy will. Amen.
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.” Galatians 3:16-17
God’s covenant promise to Abraham was to bless all the nations of the earth in one of Abraham’s offspring (Gen. 22:18). This promise was fulfilled when God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, born of the Virgin Mary, to fulfill all righteousness and to make atonement for the sins of all. The law given 430 years later on Mt. Sinai does not nullify God’s promise to Abraham in Christ Jesus.
Grant that I trust in Your promises, O Lord, and look not to the law for salvation but to Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Amen.
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:13-14
Though the law curses and condemns us all because of our sin and disobedience, Jesus Christ, by His perfect obedience and by His innocent sufferings and death for the sins of all, has redeemed us from the curse and condemnation of God’s law that we might also partake of the blessings of forgiveness and life credited to Abraham through Spirit-wrought faith in Christ.
Thank You, O Christ, for redeeming us from the law’s curse and granting us forgiveness and life through faith in Your name. Amen.
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’” Galatians 3:10-11
The law curses and condemns all who rely on their own works under the law, because the law requires perfect obedience, and any violation of its parts demands death. Therefore, not a single one of us is justified in God’s eyes by keeping the law; we can only be justified through faith in Christ Jesus and His perfect obedience to the law and His atoning sacrifice for our sins.
O God, grant that I acknowledge my sin and guilt under the law and look in faith to the perfect righteousness of Christ and to His holy sacrifice for sin that I might be counted just and righteous in Your eyes through faith in Him. Amen.
