Genesis 31 & 32
This is about Jacob heading back home. His father-in-law chases him down, and they make a non-aggression pact. Then he hears that his brother Esau is coming with an army, and he's afraid that he might wipe him out. So he divides his possessions, sends a gift ahead to Esau to try to pacify him, prays for God's help here, and ends up wrestling with the Lord all night. Now he's limping.
He contended with the Lord in prayer, and ended up with a limp!
Jacob is doing what God told him to do, but it looks like disaster! He's between a rock and a hard place. He can't go back to Paddam-Aram to his father-in-law, and his murderous (20 years ago) brother is heading his way. No wonder he wrestled all night. But he ended up with a limp!
God also changed his name from Jacob (trickster) to Israel (A Prince with God).
God told Paul that His power is greatest in our weaknesses. That is what He is teaching Jacob here.
O Father, show me how Your power is great in my own weaknesses. Show me that I can do nothing in my flesh, but I must lean on You, depend on You to bring me out of the trouble I find myself in. And I will give You all the credit, all the glory, because You are the only One Who can do what You do in us, to us, and through us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, November 27, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Dysfunctional Families
Genesis 29:32- 30:24
"Jacob" means "trickster," and he had tricked his brother Esau out of both the birthright and the blessing. Now the tables are turned, and Laban tricked him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob had worked 7 years for Rachel, and ended up with her sister instead! So Laban also let him marry Rachel, and work 7 more years!
And God is building the House of Jacob, the Tribes of Israel. We see eleven of his sons born in these two chapters. We also see the rivalry and competition between these two sisters: dysfunction in the families of these people God chose and used for His purposes.
And He still uses even us, with our own dysfunctional families today. Relationships are and have always been so messy! We do what we can, and sometimes we make matters worse, but sometimes we can smooth over some of the rough spots. The most we can do is to pray for our family relationships that they can be healed.
We can also be encouraged, knowing that God uses our imperfect selves and families for His own purposes, and we will only find out the whole story, the Big Picture, when we are in that wonderful Eternity God has planned for us, and see how all the dark and shining threads wove together in that grand tapestry.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"Jacob" means "trickster," and he had tricked his brother Esau out of both the birthright and the blessing. Now the tables are turned, and Laban tricked him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob had worked 7 years for Rachel, and ended up with her sister instead! So Laban also let him marry Rachel, and work 7 more years!
And God is building the House of Jacob, the Tribes of Israel. We see eleven of his sons born in these two chapters. We also see the rivalry and competition between these two sisters: dysfunction in the families of these people God chose and used for His purposes.
And He still uses even us, with our own dysfunctional families today. Relationships are and have always been so messy! We do what we can, and sometimes we make matters worse, but sometimes we can smooth over some of the rough spots. The most we can do is to pray for our family relationships that they can be healed.
We can also be encouraged, knowing that God uses our imperfect selves and families for His own purposes, and we will only find out the whole story, the Big Picture, when we are in that wonderful Eternity God has planned for us, and see how all the dark and shining threads wove together in that grand tapestry.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Jacob And Esau
Genesis 27 and 28
The story of Jacob and Esau, the twin boys born to Isaac and Rebecca.
God shows us just how dysfunctional this little family of four was. Isaac favored Esau, the hairy he-man who liked the outdoor life. And Rebecca favored Jacob, the smooth-skinned mama's boy who hung around the kitchen. She encouraged Jacob to trick his dad into giving him the blessing Isaac wanted to give to Esau.
But God used the dysfunctionality of this family to further His purposes. Even though it caused upset and division among those who should have been united, God used the situation to get Jacob to where he would marry the ones with the DNA God wanted for His people.
No matter what happens, even when we do things with worldly motives that seem to tear things apart, God can use them to have things fall into place in our lives to get us to where He wants us to be, to do what He has planned for us to do, to fulfill His purposes.
O my Father, it breaks my heart to see the dysfunctionality in my own family, but I know that You know what You're doing, and that You can use these sorrows and wounds to bring glory to Your Name. Please, Father, just keep me in that path You have set my feet upon, regardless of what others do around me. Help me to remember that Your joy gives me the strength to follow Your ways in all my relationships with my family members and others. That Your light in me might shine out upon all whose lives touch mine, drawing them to Yourself in Your goodness and love.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, November 24, 2017
Isaac And Rebecca--A Love Story
Genesis 24
Who was Rebecca? She was Isaac's cousin, being the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. She had a sterling character, being a virgin who was concerned for her modesty, and a willing worker, offering to draw enough water for ten camels--at 30 gallons each, that comes to 300 gallons of water! A lot of hauling for one little lady!
The culture was very different from where I live, because she agreed to marry a man she had not yet met! She did know that he was able to support and take care of her. And they did ask her if she wanted to, so it was her own decision.
When the servant told Isaac everything that happened on this trip and what she was like, he must have admired her. Then they got acquainted with each other and his admiration turned into love.
What a wonderful love story!
O my Father, I have never seen Jesus. I've met Him in the pages of Your Word, and I love Him. And I agree to being His bride. I look forward to His coming and that great Marriage Feast. Not much different from this story of Isaac and Rebecca.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Who was Rebecca? She was Isaac's cousin, being the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. She had a sterling character, being a virgin who was concerned for her modesty, and a willing worker, offering to draw enough water for ten camels--at 30 gallons each, that comes to 300 gallons of water! A lot of hauling for one little lady!
The culture was very different from where I live, because she agreed to marry a man she had not yet met! She did know that he was able to support and take care of her. And they did ask her if she wanted to, so it was her own decision.
When the servant told Isaac everything that happened on this trip and what she was like, he must have admired her. Then they got acquainted with each other and his admiration turned into love.
What a wonderful love story!
O my Father, I have never seen Jesus. I've met Him in the pages of Your Word, and I love Him. And I agree to being His bride. I look forward to His coming and that great Marriage Feast. Not much different from this story of Isaac and Rebecca.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Substitutionary Sacrifice
Genesis 22: 13
...Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
This is a very specific and obvious substitution of the animal for the person's death. This was before the Law was given.
We see since Adam and Eve that the death of an animal was to substitute for the death of the person, as God clothed them with the animals' hides.
God has always taught His people this principle, which He later codified in the Law He gave to Moses. The very first sacrifice a person was to offer was the personal, individual one, listed first in Leviticus, the book of sacrifices. The person brought his own animal to the priest, laid his hand on the animal's head to identify with it, and the priest would then kill it, burn it on the altar, and splash its blood on the sides of the altar. This blood would cover the person's sins, and they could be forgiven.
This lays out what Jesus came to accomplish, and He fulfilled all the Law, including the sacrifices. Jesus died in the place of each of us, individually, when we admit to God that we deserve death and let Him be our personal Sacrifice, His blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross.
God does not change. He required a death from the very beginning, because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), so each of us deserves to die.
That's how much He loves us. God planned from before He created, to have Jesus be the Sacrifice to take away our sins, to make us fit to live with Him forever. From the Garden of Eden to Abraham's offering of Isaac, to the Law, to Jesus fulfilling all the letter of the Law. We don't offer animal sacrifices any more, because Jesus died "once for all" (I Peter 3:18). No more blood sacrifices will ever need to be made, since Jesus fulfilled that requirement for all time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
...Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
This is a very specific and obvious substitution of the animal for the person's death. This was before the Law was given.
We see since Adam and Eve that the death of an animal was to substitute for the death of the person, as God clothed them with the animals' hides.
God has always taught His people this principle, which He later codified in the Law He gave to Moses. The very first sacrifice a person was to offer was the personal, individual one, listed first in Leviticus, the book of sacrifices. The person brought his own animal to the priest, laid his hand on the animal's head to identify with it, and the priest would then kill it, burn it on the altar, and splash its blood on the sides of the altar. This blood would cover the person's sins, and they could be forgiven.
This lays out what Jesus came to accomplish, and He fulfilled all the Law, including the sacrifices. Jesus died in the place of each of us, individually, when we admit to God that we deserve death and let Him be our personal Sacrifice, His blood splashed on the sides of His altar, the Cross.
God does not change. He required a death from the very beginning, because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), so each of us deserves to die.
That's how much He loves us. God planned from before He created, to have Jesus be the Sacrifice to take away our sins, to make us fit to live with Him forever. From the Garden of Eden to Abraham's offering of Isaac, to the Law, to Jesus fulfilling all the letter of the Law. We don't offer animal sacrifices any more, because Jesus died "once for all" (I Peter 3:18). No more blood sacrifices will ever need to be made, since Jesus fulfilled that requirement for all time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
"I Thought"
Genesis 20
V. 3 God came to Abimelech in a dream...
V. 11 Abraham said, "I thought surely there is no fear of God in this place...
Abraham and Sarah had moved to Gerar, and Abraham had told King Abimelech of Gerar that Sarah was his sister, rather than his wife, because he was afraid that they would kill him to have Sarah, because she was a very beautiful woman. And Abimelech had taken her into his harem, but hadn't come near her yet.
This is the second time Abraham did this. Right after God promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, and he had begun to travel around the land of Canaan, there came a famine, so they went to Egypt. And Abraham told Sarah to tell them that she was his sister, so they took her into Pharaoh's harem. She must've really been beautiful, at age 65! (see Genesis 12.)
These two times we see that Abraham depended on his own reasoning concerning these pagan kings, thinking that they would take his life to get him out of the way to procure his wife for their own harems; but they took her, anyway, considering her his sister.
I wonder why it didn't occur to him that God couldn't make him into a great nation if he was dead!
How many times have I depended on my own powers of reasoning and logic to make pivotal decisions? Instead of relying on God and His Word? How often have I not even thought to consult my Father in Heaven? Do I think He wouldn't be interested? That's not just silly, it's foolish! Of course He's concerned for every detail of my life. If He counts how many hairs that are on my head, how much more is he watching what I do!
Well, God protected Sarah from having to sleep with either of these kings, and they even paid Abraham to take her and leave.
Would that my foolish choices could turn out so well. I have found that my consequences haven't been that rosy. So I want to remember to pray about every decision before I come to act on it. I want to consider Him and His ways in everything I do, all the time.
This takes practice, to remind myself to pray. So I've been working on "practicing the presence of the Lord" for quite some time now, and I hope that my thinking processes are beginning to proceed along my Lord's lines, instead of my flesh.
O my Father, please help me keep my focus on what You would have me think about, to see with Your eyes and discern with Your understanding. Thank You for Your promise to never leave me, so I know that You are with me every moment of every day. Help me to continually be aware of Your constant closeness, and rest in Your arms.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
V. 3 God came to Abimelech in a dream...
V. 11 Abraham said, "I thought surely there is no fear of God in this place...
Abraham and Sarah had moved to Gerar, and Abraham had told King Abimelech of Gerar that Sarah was his sister, rather than his wife, because he was afraid that they would kill him to have Sarah, because she was a very beautiful woman. And Abimelech had taken her into his harem, but hadn't come near her yet.
This is the second time Abraham did this. Right after God promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, and he had begun to travel around the land of Canaan, there came a famine, so they went to Egypt. And Abraham told Sarah to tell them that she was his sister, so they took her into Pharaoh's harem. She must've really been beautiful, at age 65! (see Genesis 12.)
These two times we see that Abraham depended on his own reasoning concerning these pagan kings, thinking that they would take his life to get him out of the way to procure his wife for their own harems; but they took her, anyway, considering her his sister.
I wonder why it didn't occur to him that God couldn't make him into a great nation if he was dead!
How many times have I depended on my own powers of reasoning and logic to make pivotal decisions? Instead of relying on God and His Word? How often have I not even thought to consult my Father in Heaven? Do I think He wouldn't be interested? That's not just silly, it's foolish! Of course He's concerned for every detail of my life. If He counts how many hairs that are on my head, how much more is he watching what I do!
Well, God protected Sarah from having to sleep with either of these kings, and they even paid Abraham to take her and leave.
Would that my foolish choices could turn out so well. I have found that my consequences haven't been that rosy. So I want to remember to pray about every decision before I come to act on it. I want to consider Him and His ways in everything I do, all the time.
This takes practice, to remind myself to pray. So I've been working on "practicing the presence of the Lord" for quite some time now, and I hope that my thinking processes are beginning to proceed along my Lord's lines, instead of my flesh.
O my Father, please help me keep my focus on what You would have me think about, to see with Your eyes and discern with Your understanding. Thank You for Your promise to never leave me, so I know that You are with me every moment of every day. Help me to continually be aware of Your constant closeness, and rest in Your arms.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Fear Or Faith?
Genesis 19: 19-21
"...I can't flee to the mountains. ... Here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared." He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request, too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of." ... (That is why the town was renamed Zoar.)
V. 30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
Lot didn't want to go to the mountains like he was told to do, and so Bela's name was changed to Zoar, meaning "small" (see Genesis 14:1, 8), and it was the only town in that whole plain that was left intact; everywhere else around it was totally destroyed.
So now these village people probably blamed Lot for the disaster, not realizing that it was because of him that they were still alive. So he feared for his life there, and ended up in the mountains, after all.
Lot was a city guy, but God wanted him in the mountains. How often do I not go where God says, and delay God's plan for me? How often do I just stay where I am and not get off my duff and do what He has shown me to do?
O my Father, strengthen me to go and do what You want me to do, not procrastinate and delay and put it off. Help me, Father, for I am weak. My strength is only in You.
Then allow me to accomplish what You have placed before me; to not bang on the door you have closed, but to see and enter through the door You have opened before me, no matter how scary it looks to me.
Let my confidence in You give me the boldness to enter in, and do what my hand finds to do, even if I never did it this way before.
And may You get all the credit, all the honor, all the glory, all the praise, as You are the One Who has planned it all out and designed it to work this way.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
"...I can't flee to the mountains. ... Here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it--it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared." He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request, too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of." ... (That is why the town was renamed Zoar.)
V. 30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
Lot didn't want to go to the mountains like he was told to do, and so Bela's name was changed to Zoar, meaning "small" (see Genesis 14:1, 8), and it was the only town in that whole plain that was left intact; everywhere else around it was totally destroyed.
So now these village people probably blamed Lot for the disaster, not realizing that it was because of him that they were still alive. So he feared for his life there, and ended up in the mountains, after all.
Lot was a city guy, but God wanted him in the mountains. How often do I not go where God says, and delay God's plan for me? How often do I just stay where I am and not get off my duff and do what He has shown me to do?
O my Father, strengthen me to go and do what You want me to do, not procrastinate and delay and put it off. Help me, Father, for I am weak. My strength is only in You.
Then allow me to accomplish what You have placed before me; to not bang on the door you have closed, but to see and enter through the door You have opened before me, no matter how scary it looks to me.
Let my confidence in You give me the boldness to enter in, and do what my hand finds to do, even if I never did it this way before.
And may You get all the credit, all the honor, all the glory, all the praise, as You are the One Who has planned it all out and designed it to work this way.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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