Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

An Egyptian Weighing Balance Read Genesis 15:1-21 Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6 Asian Christians whose mother tongue is neither Hebrew nor English may understand ‘righteous’ solely as doing what is right. While it is true that we must do what is right, good deeds do not necessarily constitute righteousness. The idea of 'righteousness' in this context is an Egyptian weighing balance. With a standard weight on one side of the balance and the goods to be weighed on the other, the weight is deemed correct when the balance is perfectly horizontal. When God looks at all of us as we are, we fall short of His standard measure–we are unrighteous. For those of us who have confessed, repented and accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour, God looks at us through the blood of Jesus, and credits us as righteous, although we actually fall short. God gave a promise to Abram under extremely improbable human circumstances. Against all odds, Abram believed God. God observed Abram’s faith and declared him as righteous. And so verse 6 becomes central to Paul’s exposition on justification by faith (Romans 4, Galatians 3). Notice that God made it clear to Abram that His fulfilment of the promise would be delayed by as long as 400 years (v 13). Similarly, the descendants of Abram would inherit the land, not because they would be rewarded for being good, but because its present inhabitants would reap the consequences of their sins (v 16). Sin may not have immediate punitive effects, but the day of God’s judgment will surely arrive at God’s own time. Daniel 5:27: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. But the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Let us thank God for his pardon of our sins.