Reflections: Genesis, Jacob Blesses His Boys (Genesis 48.1-49.28)

Reflections: Genesis, Jacob Blesses His Boys
Genesis 48.1 - 49.28

Decades after stealing the blessing from his own father, Jacob, now at the end of his life, calls his 12 own boys to him to receive a blessing. His boys are all grown men with families of their own.  They have had a bumpy history between the 12 of them.  Some of them have hated and envied each other.  While others were close friends and allies.  Jacob, now know as Israel, has had a long time to observe his boys and think about the best way to bless each of them individually.  In fact the author of Genesis tells us that He gave “each the blessing appropriate to him.” (Genesis 49.28)

Each blessing Israel gives is appropriate for each individual man and his descendants.  He must have carefully considered the lives of each of his boys and then carefully decided how to bless them.  If you read the blessings for yourself you will see that they are unique and seem to fit the lives each of them lived and their tribes will live.

As most of you know I am a big fan of parents blessing their children at important transitional times of their lives.  At each Graduate Dinner/Banquet or Senior Sunday I have planned, the parents have blessed their son or daughter.  No two of these have been the same and each has been appropriate for the graduate.  The key for us as parents is to know our children.  See them for who they truly are and not who we want them to be.  The blessings we bestow on our children should guide them in life and strengthen them as they follow Jesus.

My challenge to you is to spend some time this week thinking and meditating on how you are blessing your children each and every day of their lives.

Reflections: Joseph Genesis 37 - 45

Reflections: Joseph Genesis 37 - 45

Have you ever wanted to just quit?

Have you ever just wanted to give up?

Has life ever just gotten you so down you were done?

Has your job, family or school just pushed you so far over the edge you just wanted to stop?

We have all been there or we will all be there.  You are not alone.

Life is hard.  Anyone who says different is lying or trying to sell you something.  The LORD never said life would be easy.  Jesus never promised us an easy life.  But we should not give up hope.

Look at Joseph.  He has so many opportunities to say “That’s it I give up.”  or “I have followed the LORD all my life and this is what I get in return.  I quit!”  When his brothers threw him in a well and planned to kill him.  When they sold him into slavery.  When he was purchased by Potiphar.  When he went to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.  When he helped Pharaoh's cup bearer but then was forgotten by the same man.  These were all chances for Joseph to walk away from a god who seemed to make things worse than better.

But he doesn’t let go of the LORD and the LORD doesn’t let go of Joseph.  The LORD in the end turns out to the the GOD who takes the horribleness of life and redeems it into something beautiful.

Reflect on that.

I know life is not easy.  I know it is not easy following Jesus.  I know hat in spite of this following Jesus and holding onto the life he calls us to is better than anything our culture has to offer.  By not giving up on God we are blessed today, tomorrow and in the age to come.

Reflections: What Just Happened? Jacob and Esau Part Five Genesis 33

Reflections: What Just Happened? Jacob and Esau Part Five Genesis 33

According to wikipedia a plot twist is “ a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot f a novel, film, television series, comic, video game or other work of narative.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plot_twist)  The director M. Night Shyamalan has pretty much based his career on using plot twists.  We expect his movies to have a twist at the end but we don’t expect this in the Bible.

The story of Jacob and Esau ends with a plot twist.  When Jacob flees his home it is because his brother Esau wants to kill him!  Over the next 30 years we have the story of Jacob in Padam-Aram but we do not have the story of Esau.  We expect Esau to want revenge and try to kill Jacob.

This is not what happens.  When Esau meets Jacob he gives him a big bear hug!  Esau doesn’t want Jacob’s gifts.  Esau wants to help protect Jacob in his travels.  This is a plot twist.  The mystery is even deeper because we don’t know why Esau has changed so much.

It would seem that in the last 30 years instead of allowing the hurt Jacob caused him fester.  Esau has learned to forgive.  Esau let go of the pain caused by Jacob.  Esau let go the feelings of betrayal caused by Jacob.  Esau let go of his hatred of Jacob.  Esau learned to forgive.  This must have been a hard lesson to learn but Esau learned it.

When we first met Jacob and Esau they were not the kind of people we would hold up as examples of how to live as one of the LORD’s people.  Now at the end of their story they have become the kind of people we would point to as examples to follow as we try to live as the LORD’s people.  How are you living?  Are you the young Jacob and Esau or are you like the older mature Jacob and Esau?

Reflections: Blessings Jacob and Esau Part Four Genesis 31.2

Reflections: Blessings Jacob and Esau Part Four

Genesis 31.22 - 32.32

“Let me go, for it is daybreak” said the man.

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Replied Jacob.

The man asked “What is your name?”

“Jacob”

“You name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with man and have over come.” (Genesis 32.26 & .27)

Jacob’s story is our story.  In fact I would say that most of the stories in the Bible are our stories as well.  We find the struggles, triumphs, set back and successes of the men and women we read about in our own lives.  The truth of these stories is not that they just happened once but that they continue to happen.

Jacob has for years been trying to make his way in the world far from home.  He starts life deceiving his brother and father.  The middle of his life is spent working for his uncle who keeps taking advantage of him.  The relationships he has with his wives and children are dysfunctional.  Jacob is responsible for most of the mess he is in because of some sinful and selfish choices he has made.

The one hope we find is that the LORD is with him.  Jacob isn’t always with the LORD but the LORD is always with Jacob.

At the end of his story Jacob flees his uncle and heads back home.  He knows he must face his brother, Esau, whom he stole a great deal from.  Unknown to Jacob he has to meet the LORD first.  After a night of wrestling with the LORD, the LORD wants to go but Jacob won’t let Him.  Instead Jacob wants a blessing first.  What blessing does the LORD give Jacob?  Confession and Change

The first blessing is Confession.  The LORD asks for his name.  The answer is “Deceiver.”  He has lived up to the meaning of his name.

The second blessing is change.  The LORD changes his name from Jacob/Deceiver to Israel/God Wrestler.  Israel is no longer the deceiver, he is now someone new.

Just like Jacob we can not receive the blessing of change from the LORD without first admitting who we are and confessing it.  Only then can we be changed into what we are supposed to be, Israel.

Reflections: Where is the LORD in This? - Jacob and Esau Part Three

Reflections: Where is the LORD in This?

Jacob and Esau Part Three

Genesis 29.1 - 31.21

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised” - The LORD (Genesis 28.15)

“If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking ... then the LORD will be my God.” - Jacob (Genesis 28.20 - .22)

On a quick reading of Jacob’s story from this point until he returns home, it is hard to see that the LORD is watching over Jacob.  For instance, Jacob arrives in Paddam Aram meets Rachel and falls in love with her.  He makes a deal with Laban to marry her after 7 years of work and Laban agrees.  When the time comes for the wedding Jacob ends up marrying Leah instead.  So, after a little confrontation, Jacob has to work another 7 years in order to marry Rachel.  How was the LORD looking over Jacob here?

Then Lea and Rachel have what can best be described as a baby making contest between each other.  This contest cause the family to become a toxic place.  The family conflict started here will ripple throughout the rest of the Book of Genesis.  Where is the LORD in this?

Jacob’s time in Paddam Aram is not a happy time.  He has been tricked by his uncle Laban.  His family is ripping itself apart.  But the LORD is with Jacob.  Towards the end of this part of his journey Jacob asks Laban for permission to leave.  Laban essentially won’t let him go but the LORD comes to Jacob’s aid.  The LORD tells Jacob what to do in order to have a large flock of sheep and goats.  The LORD also warns Jacob that it is time to go.

It is not always to see where the LORD is in a bad situation.  We may think He is not watching over us, but the LORD is always there with us.  We are His people.

Reflections: The Potter at His Work - Jacob and Esau Part Two

Reflections: The Potter at His Work

Jacob and Esau Part Two

Genesis 28.10 - .22

“If God will be with me, an will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you.” - Jacob (Genesis 28.20 - .22)

After stealing the blessing from Esau, Jacob flees to his mothers homeland.  One night on the road Jacob is in need of a place to stay.  So he grabs a rock and curls up for the night.  Unknown to Jacob the place is not safe!  Something wild and wonderful is about to appear and change Jacob forever - The LORD.

In a dream the LORD appears to Jacob.  In this dream the LORD makes a covenant with Jacob.  It is the same covenant the LORD made with his father and grandfather but now it is with him.  In this covenant the LORD promises to give Jacob the land he is sleeping on and descendant to fill this land.  Then the LORD tells Jacob he and his descendants will be a blessing to all the families of the earth.  Finally the LORD makes two last promises to be with Jacob where ever he goes and the Jacob will return home.

Jacob is stunned to discover that the LORD was in that place and that the LORD would make such promises to him.  Jacob makes a vow that if the LORD lives up to this promise Jacob will make the LORD his God.  As we saw last week Jacob’s life is messed up.  He has tricked and stolen from his family but the LORD is working on him and through him to bring about something wonderful.

Reflections: The Potter Starts His Work - Jacob and Esau Part One

Reflections: The Potter Starts His Work

Jacob and Esau Part One

Genesis 25.19 - .35 & 27.1 - 28.9

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren.  The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.  The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?”  So she went to inquire the LORD.  The LORD said to her,

Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated

one people will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger. (Genesis 25.21 - .23)

Imagine you are a young Israelite who is hearing the story of your people and your God for the first time.  You are making your way through Genesis.  You know that the LORD has chosen your people.  You know that your ancestors weren’t perfect but they were great men and women who should be imitated.  You are feeling good about yourself and then you hit the story of Jacob and Esau.  This is not the kind of story you expect.  You expect that the story of the LORD and the Patriarchs would be of people getting better.  Instead the children of the promised son can be seen as scoundrels!

They start off rough but the LORD will be working on them all their lives. Esau begins as a red, hairy guy who marries Canaanite women and loves to hunt.  Jacob begins as a quiet single guy who is a liar and a thief.  What is going on?  Neither Jacob nor Esau are the kind of people the LORD wants them to be but the LORD has just started working on them.   We know more about Jacob than we do about Esau but as you will see it is clear that they both grow and mature in unexpected ways.

How rough are you?  Our lives now may be a mess but the LORD is an expert at taking messy lives and cleaning them up!  He has a plan for you!

Reflections on the Chief Servant - Good Help is Hard to Be (Genesis 24.1-.67)

Reflections on the Chief Servant

Good Help is Hard to Be

Genesis 24.1 - .67

Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.  He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh.  I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis chapter 24 contains a very interesting and important story about being a servant.  In this story Abraham’s most trusted servant is sent on an important mission.  The servant is told his task and is then allowed to go carry it out.  Abraham does not micro-manage the servant.  Abraham trusts this servant to do what needs to be done to complete the mission.

The servant lives up to the task.  First he takes ten camels with all kinds of good things.  Then the servant prays for guidance.  When the servant finds the Rebekah he does not allow her family to detain him.  Finally he arrives at Isaacs with Rebekah and they are married.

Interesting to note that the servant is never named nor is he ever thanked for doing what he was told to do.  Why is that?  This man was a servant and when the master gives a command the servant fulfills that command.

In many of his letters the apostle Paul describes himself, his companions and us as servants of the LORD Jesus Christ.  The word servant that Paul uses and the word in Genesis 24 means slave.  By our confession of faith we are slaves of the LORD Jesus Christ.  He is our master.  Our master has given us two commands; (1) Love the LORD with all your heart, soul and mind, and (2) Love your neighbor as yourself.  It is up to us, as good slaves, to fulfill our masters commands.  We should do this not expecting any reward or congratulations but because we are good slaves of the best MASTER.

Reflections on Abraham Part Five: Good Coaching

Reflections on Abraham
Part Five: Good Coaching
Genesis 22.1 - .19

“Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” - The LORD
(Genesis 22.2)

One of the characteristic of a good coach is that he or she will push until you hit your limit and then push you farther. A good coach wants you to know how fast you can run. How high you can jump. How far you can throw. How hard you can get hit. The good coach does this so you will be better, stronger and victorious when it is game time. The LORD is not just a good coach, He is the best coach.

The LORD knows our limits before we do. He knows all our strengths and weakness even when we don’t. So, like all good coaches He pushes us to those outer limits but instead of athletic ability, He is pushing our faith to its extreme.

Look at Abraham in Genesis 22. The LORD has made a promise and covenant with Abraham that will be fulfilled through Isaac. Now, the LORD has asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham is being asked to kill the son of the promise. Abraham risks it all and steps out in faith. He is willing to sacrifice Isaac and is only stopped at the last moment by the LORD.

The LORD pushed Abraham’s faith to the edge. If you have put your faith in the LORD you know as well as I do that it will be challenged. Challenged by the LORD with the hard call we have as followers of Jesus. Our faith is challenged by the corrupted culture we live in. But, we must never forget that the Holy Spirit is in us to give us the power, courage and strength we need to overcome these challenges.

Reflections on Abraham Part Four: Will You Keep the Way of the LORD?

Reflections on Abraham
Part Four: Will You Keep the Way of the LORD?
Genesis 18.16 - 19.29 & Romans 7.7 - .25

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation and all the nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him. so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised.” - The LORD (Genesis 18.16 - .19)

Sodom and Gamorrah are two extremely vile places, so bad that the LORD has decided to destroy these cities. The inhabitant have been wicked and unjust. They have not lived in the way of the LORD and the LORD can not even find 10 righteous people. The LORD after thinking to himself decides to tell Abraham about the impending destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah. Why? In order to give Abraham and his decedents an object lesson. We needed to know that if we do not keep the way of the LORD by living a right and just life we are in danger!

I don’t mean that the LORD is going to send fire and brimstone on us here and now because of our mistakes. What I mean is that if we live an unrighteous, unjust sinful life we will have to deal with the very real consequence here and now. If we continue in walking away from the way of the LORD we will have to deal with the eternal consequences too.

So what can we do? How can we live a perfect righteous and just life? We can’t! We know from our own experience that we will always fall short. It is only thru the love, grace and forgiveness we find in the Lord Jesus Christ that we can over come the temporary and eternal consequences of our sin.

Reflections on Abraham Part Three: Children and Volcanos

Reflections on Abraham
Part Three: Children and Volcanos
Genesis 16.1 - .16

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. (Genesis 16.1 & .2)

In our culture we love to be in control and we love to have plans. Huge amounts of money is spent on calendars, personal organizers and software to get our plans and schedule under our control. Recently the entire European continent learned that no matter what their plans, calendars or personal organizers tell them they are not in control. The Eyjafjallajokul Volcano, whose name is nearly impossible to pronounce, shut down most of Europe’s airspace causing thousands if not millions of people to put their plans travel by air on hold. They couldn’t do what they planned to do. They learned that they were not in control and nothing they did would allow them to be in control of the volcano!

When we try to control everything and go our own way rather than waiting patiently for the LORD it causes trouble. Look at Sarai and Abram’s attempt to start a family. Abram knows the LORD has promised him a child but Sarai is either impatient or thinks she has a better plan. So she offer her maidservant, Hagar, as a surrogate and will start a family through her. She wants to be in control of this situation instead of waiting for the LORD. This causes trouble. Sarai becomes jealous of Hagar. Hagar is sent away. Abram is caught in the middle. The family Sarai wanted to start falls apart instead!

When we try to take control it causes trouble. When we try to make plans but don’t surrender them to the LORD we sin. (James 4.13 - .17) Instead we need to wait patiently for the LORD and surrender our plans to His will.

Reflections on Abraham Part Two: Blessing or Not

Reflections on Abraham
Part Two: Blessing or Not
Genesis 12.10 - .20

The LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you don to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” (Genesis 12.17 - .19)

Shortly after calling upon the LORD at Bethel a famine strikes the land Abraham is living in. In order to find relief from the famine Abraham decides to take his family to Egypt. Abraham is afraid the Egyptians will see his wife, want her, kill him and taker her for their own. In order to save his life he tells the Egyptians that Sarah is his sister. Pharaoh sees Sarah wants her, makes a deal of some kind with Abraham and takes her. This causes trouble. Pharaoh's household gets diseases and Abraham has to return to the famine stricken land.

Earlier the LORD made a promise to bless and protect Abraham. As a result of the blessing and protection of the LORD all the peoples of the earth would be blessed through Abraham. Abraham is to be a blessing not a curse to the peoples of the earth. Unfortunately in his dealings with the Egyptians he is a curse! The entire household of Pharaoh is cursed with serious diseases because of Abraham’s lie about Sarah. His choice does not lead to a blessing but a curse.

What about us? We can be a blessing to those around us or we can be a curse. We can allow the blessings and love the LORD gives us pass through us onto others. Or we can be like Abraham in this case and stop the blessings from passing on. The choice is yours.

Reflections on Abraham Part One: The Call

Reflections on Abraham
Part One: The Call
Genesis 12.1 - .9

“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” - Genesis 12.1 - .9

After the LORD appeared to Abram with this promise and command Abram obediently leaves. He has a choice. He can stay home where everything is comfortable and familiar. He can continue to live in his father’s household and protection. He can continue to live among his own people with the people who know him. He can continue to live in his own country where the landmarks are familiar.

Instead he leaves. He leaves it all behind to go into the unknown. That was all he was asked to do. In return for a wonderful promise from the Creator God, Abram is simply to be obedient. The LORD promises to bless him. When the LORD blesses someone that person finds himself being cared for, protected and favored by the LORD. There are promises of a new home, blessing and protection.

There is more going on here than meets the eye. Once again the Creator God takes the first steps into a relationship with His creation. We, humanity, have no idea how to have a relationship with the Creator. Look at all the goofy religion in our world. People desperately trying to get in touch with the Creator. Trying to do it on their own terms and with their own ideas.
The good news is that the Creator God makes the first step and shows us how to have a relationship with Him! We are not left on our own. He wants to be in relationships with us because we are loved more deeply than we can imagine by Him.

#2 Cain and Able: Reflections on Genesis 1 - 11

Reflections on Genesis 1 - 11

Cain and Able

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” - LORD God (Genesis 4.6 & .7)

Cain and Able are Adam and Eve’s first two boys. Cain works out in the fields. Able works with livestock. One day both of them bring an offering to the LORD. Cain just brings some of the fruit of the soil. Able brings the fatty portions of the first born. The LORD accepts Able’s offering because it is the choicest parts being sacrificed. While Cain’s offering is just normal everyday food. Cain is upset by this and the LORD warns him that sin desires to have him but he must master it. What a warning!

Now if the LORD spoke directly to me with a warning like that I think I would listen to him. If the LORD spoke directly to me every time my own evil desires were tempting I think I would listen. I think I would know better after some help like that.

But to often like Cain we ignore the warnings and walk through temptation and into sin. We knew better but went ahead. We knew the Holy Spirit was pulling us away but we did not control ourselves. We allowed sin to master us.

Self-control is not easy but I believe it is a defining characteristic of a follower of Jesus Christ. Self-control is about being self-aware and thinking ahead. When we master ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit then the LORD is our master not sin.

#1 Don't Follow god but Follow God

Don’t Follow god but Follow God
First in a Series of Reflections on Genesis 1 - 11

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” - Narrator (Genesis 1.27)

“You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” - The Serpent (Genesis 2.4 &.5)

The truth of the first 11 chapters of Genesis is not just that they happened that they still happen. Each and everyday the same temptations, righteousness, sin and victory occur. We are given a choice. We can either follow god or the LORD GOD.
The Serpent tempts Adam and Eve in the garden with the idea that they can be like god knowing good and evil. They see this temptations as something they desire. The desire to be like god gives birth to sin. The sin to pridefully and selfishly be like god leads to death. This is a death of their, and our, relationship with the LORD GOD. Death of their life in the Garden. Death of the joy they were to experience. Death of who they were created to be. Eventually, their own deaths as they were cut off from the Tree of Life.
What they forgot was they were already like God. When the LORD GOD creates us He created us in His image and (wait for it) LIKENESS. We were already like God but we believed the Serpent’s lie! The lie that we can be like the god of our creation not the God of creation
We were created by the LORD GOD to be in His image and likeness. We will only find who we are truly created to be when we stop following god and follow GOD.