Archive for the ‘Genesis-BibleTrekToday’ Category

Scripture reading for January 14th: Genesis 37-40

Have you ever tried to get even with someone and found that your revenge came back on you in another form?  This is what happened to Joseph’s older brothers.  They were jealous of Joseph, their younger brother, because he was his father’s favorite.  (Genesis 37:3)  His father made him a special coat of many colors.  His father sent him on errands and gave him responsibility to check on the work of the older brothers.  On top of that, Joseph had dreams in which he was the ruler over his brothers and father, and he  unwisely shared these dreams with them.  These circumstances brought about jealousy, envy, and anger that nearly led to Joseph’s murder!  (Genesis 37:18)

The brothers ended up selling Joseph into slavery in Egypt, taking his robe, and dipping it in blood to fake his death.  They thought that they had solved their problem of a brother who was a pompous dreamer!  They could now get on with life with no more aggravation. Note that their jealousy did not hinder, but rather promoted, God’s plan of salvation!

When God is involved in a family and speaks to individuals, He knows how everything will work out.  He is not shocked by our boastful behavior or our brothers’ angry reactions.  God goes about working out His plan and the dream that He had given Joseph.  Joseph got a free ride to Egypt when he would have never gone on his own.  While there, the word of the Lord tested his faith during slavery, temptation by a married woman, (Genesis 39:10) and extended time in prison.  (Psalm 105:17-19)  All of this God used to prepare Joseph for his mission of saving his brothers and the known world from a disastrous 7 year famine.

God even used Joseph in interpreting dreams and he gained a reputation as someone with knowledge and insight.  (Genesis 40:8)  While in jail, Joseph interpreted two dreams that came true to the letter.   The chief cup bearer was supposed to remember Joseph to Pharaoh when he was restored according to Joseph’s word, but promptly forgot him. (Genesis 40:  12-14, 23)  Even bad memories work out for good in God’s economy!

Take time today and invite God to work in your mess!  Read His word and trust His promises.  Wait patiently in the midst of your messy trial for God is working out something for good for you! (Romans 8:28)

Scripture reading for January 13th: Genesis 32-36

Can you imagine working for seven years for the girl you loved, only to wake up on your wedding morning with her sister?  (Genesis 30:25)  Can you imagine working another 7 years for the girl and your father-in-law, who changes your wages all the time?  Can you imagine rivalry for a husband’s affection in a home with two wives and four concubines?   Jacob turned to building altars to meet with God.  Prayer was the only way to make it through the trouble!

One day after nearly 20 years in Paddan Aram, God spoke to Jacob about returning to his homeland.  (Genesis 31:3)  Jacob gathered up his family and set out with his flocks.  Laban came after him and confronted him, but God dealt with Laban to let him go.  God is so thorough with His plans that when He speaks, we can be certain that they will come to pass.  After wrestling with God, Jacob successfully returned to his homeland and Esau made peace with him.  In Canaan, he bought a plot of ground near Shechem and set up an altar and called it “Mighty is the God of Israel“.  (Genesis 33:20)  Jacob tried to honor the Lord who had so blessed and helped him.

During this stay at Shechem one of Jacob’s daughters, Dinah, was raped by one of the men of Shechem.  This infuriated her brothers and two of them secretly plotted to get even.  Revenge may seem sweet momentarily, but only God can repay!  The murder of the townsmen by Levi and Simeon brought trouble on Jacob’s family and he became fearful.  He evidently sought the Lord and God spoke to him, “Go up to Bethel and settle there and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” (Genesis 35:1)  God again met Jacob and changed his name to Israel!  “Israel” means “conquered by God”!

We note again the ongoing conversation and direction from the Lord that Jacob had.  He was in covenant relationship with God and God was caring for him through all his troubles.  Bethel became an early center of worship in Israel.  Jacob learned how important it was to follow God and worship regularly.  The altar was established as a place to meet with God through sacrifice.

Scripture reading for January 12th: Genesis 27-31

“Jacob left Beersheba and sat out for Haran.  When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.  Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.  He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” (Genesis 28:10-12)

Jacob was the younger twin son of Isaac who had obtained the birthright from his brother Esau by shrewd trading and then connived with his mother to get his father’s blessing. Faith sees what is valuable in God’s economy and takes hold of it.  Jacob was sent away from his home for two reasons:  Esau was mad enough to kill him after the blessing incident, and Isaac and Rebbecca were distraught at Esau’s Hittite wives.  They knew that for God’s blessing to come to pass, Jacob must marry someone of faith from their own family.  It is not good to be unequally yoked!  (2nd Corinthians 6:14-15) (Genesis 28:2-4)

As Jacob left to find his future wife,  he stopped the first night to sleep.  He had nothing but a stone for a pillow.  God visited him in a dream and showed him a stairway to heaven.  God spoke to Jacob from the top of the stairs, ” I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.  I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. . . .All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.  . . .I will watch over you wherever you go. . . I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.” (Genesis 28:13-15)  God was in that place!   What words of assurance  the Lord gave during a time of transition!

Bethel (House of God) was the name Jacob gave that place.  Jacob made a vow to follow God, and set up a stone pillar as a memorial of his encounter.  He vowed to tithe off of all that God gave him.  When a man promises money, you know that his heart is in it!  God is indeed with each of us.  We have an open heaven and promised blessing through the descendant of Jacob, Jesus Christ who is our stairway to heaven!  (John 14:6) Follow Him today up the stairway!

Scripture reading for January 11th: Genesis 25-26

Water is essential for human survival.  Water is not always easy to find, especially in a desert location.  But men are very resourceful and have developed techniques for locating water and then for making it available to use for life.  Abraham and Isaac were both well-diggers.  They found water in dry places and dug wells that became famous social gathering places in the dry desert of southern Israel.  One of those places was Beersheba, which means ‘well of the oath’.  (Genesis 22:30-33).

Isaac and Ishmael had buried Abraham, who died at 175 years of age after having lived a full life of faith.  (Genesis 25:7-10)  Scripture states that after Abraham’s passing, God blessed Isaac.  Isaac was married to Rebekah, but they had no children.  Isaac then prayed to the Lord for his wife and God answered the prayer with twins in her womb.  The babies jostled in her womb and she went to inquire of the Lord about what was happening.  “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; the older will serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23) We note a pattern of prayer in the lives of these who followed Abraham. As they asked the Lord, He responded to them and let them in on His plans.  Prayer is a communication in our relationship with God, who is Spirit.

Isaac encountered a famine in the desert land and went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines.  God appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.  Stay in this land where I tell you to live.  . . . and I will be with you and will bless you.” (Genesis 26:2-3)  Isaac obeyed and planted crops in that land and reaped a hundredfold because of the Lord’s blessing.  When he became wealthy,  the Philistines were threatened by him so they stopped up the wells that Abraham had dug, hoping to discourage him.

Isaac dug new wells, but the quarrels continued.  He went back to Beersheba, the well of the oath.  There God appeared to him again and reaffirmed the covenant.  Digging wells brings refreshing water and a place of relationship.  Prayer with the Lord brings life-giving water and relationship that guides us successfully to our eternal home!

Dear Friends,

Greetings on this day of rest!  We are so blessed to have assurance of our salvation.  God has promised us salvation for faith in Jesus Christ!  (Romans 10:9-10)  We don’ t have to work to earn our salvation!  We are blessed by God with the grace of Christ’s gift to us.  This is a big contrast to the group of people who have come from the first son of Abram, Ishmael!

Ishmael was well taken care of by God.  God heard his cry as a teenage boy and promised to bless him, too.  Ishmael was not a person of faith, however.  He did not share in the inheritance that comes by faith through grace.  From his descendants comes Mohamed, the founder of Islam.  He was a violent man who had twelve wives and numerous children.  Mohamed promoted a religion of rules and regulations and told of an angry God, Allah, who demanded obedience to his rules or punishment would come.  Those who refused to submit were to be killed.  The only way to assure that a follower of Allah would make it to paradise was for him to die for the cause of Allah by conducting “Jihad”.  Women were treated as property and  a strict set of rules and mandatory prayers mark the lives of those who submit.

By contrast, followers of Christ do so because of love and faith.  Their God sent His Son Jesus to die for them and they can live eternally as a free gift.  (John 3:16-17)  They obey because of love and trust, not out of fear of punishment.  Their God lives with them and delights in them.  He is always for them and prays for their faith and success.  (Romans 8:31, 34)  Every person is given the opportunity of salvation, whether male or female.  God shows no partiality but wants all to be saved.  (1st Timothy 2:4-5)  Followers of God willingly give their money, time and talent, even their lives,  to serve their God out of gratitude for His mercy.

As you rest today, thank Him again for the freedom we have in Christ!  (Galatians 5:1)  Pray for the 1.2 billion descendants of Ishmael who are lost and need true freedom!  God wants them free, too!

In His Love, Pastor John

Scripture reading for January 9th: Genesis 21-24

Isaac was a miracle child, born by the word of God to two people who were humanly beyond child-bearing.  Isaac grew in grace and favor, except with Hagar and Ishmael.  When Sarah caught Ishmael mocking Isaac, she went to Abraham and told him to get rid of both Ishmael and his mother. (Genesis 21:9-10) Abraham was greatly distressed because Ishmael was his son, but when he prayed to God, God told him to listen to his wife Sarah.  His inheritance would be through Isaac, not Ishmael, and God assured him that He would also take care of Ishmael and Hagar.

Isaac grew to be a young man and one day God tested Abraham.  He spoke directly to him about taking Isaac and offering him as a sacrifice on a mountain that God would show him.  Abraham got up early the next morning and obeyed.  They traveled for three days with enough wood, fire making materials, and a knife to kill the sacrifice.  When Abraham saw the place, he left the servants and donkeys and he and Isaac went up the mountain.  Isaac was carrying the wood and asked his father where the lamb for the sacrifice was.  All Abraham could answer was “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:8)

They built the altar and arranged the wood and then Abraham bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar.  He took the knife and was about to sacrifice his son when an angel of the Lord stopped him.  Abraham looked and a ram was caught in the thicket.  He went over and took the ram and offered it instead.  He called the place, “Jehovah Jireh”  which means “the Lord will provide“.  (Genesis 22:14) Abraham’s faith was rewarded with another covenant affirmation.

Jesus Christ was the special Son of Joseph and Mary, born by supernatural intervention.  He was tested by being asked by his Father in Heaven to offer Himself as a sacrifice.  He carried the wood for the altar and gave Himself for the Lamb that God provided.  God raised Him from the dead and He now lives forever making possible an everlasting covenant for all who trust in Him!  The place he offered Himself is in the region where Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice.  What an amazing God we have!  He knows how to provide the Lamb!  (John 1:29)

Scripture reading for January 8th: Genesis 18-20

Peter’s second letter tells us that in the last days there will be scoffers who ask, “Where is the promise of His coming?”  (2nd Peter 3:3-4)  They develop an attitude that because what God has promised is not happening now,  it probably will not happen at all.  They are not walking in faith, but have attitudes that say that the word of God is a joke to them and should be to us.  This is the attitude we find in the reading for today from Genesis.

Abraham had a visit from three men who were really angels sent from the Throne of God.  Abraham welcomed these three and showed hospitality.  One of them was “The Lord” and told Abraham that he would have a son in a year. (Genesis 18: 10)  This is probably a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus called a “theophany”.  The Lord also told Abraham of the plans to pour out judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.  He was on His way down there to visit them.  Abraham proceeds to question the Lord about His plans.  Would the Lord destroy the righteous with the wicked?  How many righteous would cause God to spare the city? He does trust the Judge of all the earth to do what is right.  (Genesis 18:25)

Two of the angels proceeded down to Sodom and Gomorrah.  They found Lot sitting in the gate of the city and Lot invited them to his home.  They initially refused but Lot insisted and they went with him.  That night the men of the city came and demanded to have these angels, who looked like men, for sexual purposes.  Lot bargained with them, even trying to give his two daughters in place of the men.  When the men began to force their way into the house, the angels pulled Lot back inside.  They struck those wicked men blind!  These angels then warned Lot to gather his family and get them out of the city immediately!  God was going to destroy the place!  (Genesis 19:12)

The tragedy was that as Lot warned his sons-in-law who were betrothed to his daughter, they laughed and thought he was joking!  Even Lot began to hesitate, so the angels grabbed his hand and his wife and daughter’s and led them out of the city.  Lot’s wife looked back and died!

Many will be lost because they fail to heed the warning of God’s word and his messengers!  The coming of the Lord is no joke and He is the Judge of all the earth!

Scripture reading for January 7th: Genesis 15-17

Some people think that God’s people can’t be happy because they live in fear of the Lord.  The kind of fear that we have is reverence for God’s person, power, and mercy.  This fear leads to true joy and a life of laughter!  God Himself likes to laugh!  Psalm 2:4 pictures God laughing–at those who would reject His love and law!  Today we get in on a positive laugh that God had with Abram and Sarai after they were old and beyond human possibility of child bearing.

When Abram was 99 years old and Sarai was 90, they were again visited by God.  God confirmed the covenant that He had made earlier with Abram.  He changed their names to Abraham: father of nations, and Sarah: a princess. He promised them fruitfulness, abundant offspring and a relationship with them and their many descendants.  God would be their God and they would be His people in everlasting covenant.  He told them that they must circumcise every male child as a sign of this covenant.  (Genesis 17:10-14)  Abraham, himself was to be circumcised.

Then came the shocker, Abraham was told that his wife, Sarah, would have a son.  Abraham fell face down in reverence for the Lord, but laughed as he considered their ages. He wondered to himself how this could be.  He answered the Lord saying, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing.” (Genesis 17:18)  The Lord reaffirmed that Sarah would have a son and told Abraham that his name would be Isaac.  This name actually means “the sound of laughter”!  The joke would be on them and they would laugh in their old age with God’s promised child reminding them each time they said his name!

God has a sense of humor.  He knows how to best accomplish His purposes.  He desires us to trust Him and believe His promises.  Physical limitations and natural abilities never limit God.  As we read these ancient stories, we learn to trust God and believe that we can laugh, knowing that He will bring His promises to pass.  Issac had Jacob and Esau.  Jacob had twelve sons who became the nation of Israel.  Abraham’s son Ishmael multiplied and formed nations as well.  God’s word is true and is still producing!  Let laughter mark your walk of faith today!

Scripture reading for January 6th: Genesis 12-14

Abram and his nephew Lot were prosperous in the new land God had taken them to. Abram had built an altar to the Lord in Bethel  and began to call upon the Lord. (Genesis 13:3-4) Lot and his herdsmen began to quarrel with Abram’s herdsmen. Abram was a peacemaker and decided they should separate. He gave Lot the choice of where he would settle. Lot had his eyes on the fertile plain and the city of Sodom. Sodom was a wicked city and the men there were sinning greatly in the sight of the Lord. (Genesis 13:13)

After Lot had moved, the Lord spoke to Abram, telling him to lift up his eyes and look in each direction. All that he could see would be given to him and his descendants forever! God reaffirmed that He would make Abram’s offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. God encouraged Abram to walk through the land and survey it. Abram moved his tent near Hebron and built an altar to the Lord there. (Genesis 13:18) God blessed Abram for his faith and willingness to let God lead him to where he was supposed to be. This is a helpful hint for us in our walk. We can be selfish and reach out to take, or we can more wisely worship the Lord and follow Him!

Some time later, we find some kings attacking Sodom and carrying off Lot and his family, as well as the goods of Sodom.  Abram took his men and went in pursuit.  He recovered all the people plus the goods.  (Genesis 14:16)  As he returned, both the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem), came to meet Abram.  Melchizedek, a priest of the Most High God, met Abram with bread and wine and blessed him.  Abram responded by giving a tithe of everything to this mysterious priest and king.  (Genesis 14:20)

Jesus Christ is said to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek, having the power of an endless life!  (Hebrews 7:15-17)  As a priest, Jesus intercedes for us before the throne.   (Romans 8:34)  He served His disciples bread and wine at the Last Supper and told them to do it often in remembrance of Him.  (Matthew 26:26-29)  He is also King of Kings and will reign in the Jerusalem during the millennium!  (Revelation 20:4-5)  Jesus alone is worthy of our worship, tithes, and dedication!

Scripture reading for January 5th: Genesis 10-11

I love to build things and organize.  God designed us that way! In the days following the flood, the descendants of Noah had a fresh opportunity to obey God by being fruitful, multiplying and repopulating the earth. Shem, Ham, and Japheth had a whole new world that needed care and tending. They each had a wife and could begin again to obey God’s simple command. (Genesis 9:7)

Genesis 10 records the genealogy of these three descendants of Noah. Note that one of Ham’s descendants, Nimrod is given particular attention. He was a mighty warrior and hunter before the Lord. He built the cities of Babylon and Nineveh. (Genesis 10:8-10) His brother Canaan was the father of the Canaanite tribes that inhabited Israel in the time of Abraham and beyond. Note also that Shem was the father of Eber. (Genesis 10:21) Eber’s descendants included Abram and the “Hebrew” people derive their name from him! (Genesis 11:27)

Nimrod and his family group decided to settle on the plains of Shinar, which is modern day Iraq. There they organized all or most of the family to build a tower to heaven and make a name for themselves. They particularly did not like the idea of being scattered over the whole earth. (Genesis 11:2-4) There is some implication that Nimrod forcibly organized this rebellion and hunted down those who would not comply. He also organized a humanistic religion that worshiped the work of man’s hands and the creation, but not the Creator!

God came down to see this city and stated that nothing would be impossible with this kind of unity. They had unified in opposing the plans and purpose of God. He took action and confounded their one language so that they couldn’t understand one another. In the days of Peleg he scattered them across the earth and then divided the earth. (Genesis 10:25) He created the nations from these three families.

God wants to dwell with His people and desires fellowship with them. He longs to have a people willing to be under His rule and protective covering. We can learn from these records of God’s dealing with those after the flood. He is merciful, but demands obedience. Take a few minutes today and thank Him for His mercy and His plan of reaching all with the Gospel. God came down in Jesus Christ and is here now in His church!