God Grew Jacob [Gen 33]

Monday, February 8, 2010

Genesis 33

⁴Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

⁵He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, "Who are these with you?" So he said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."

God grew Jacob's faith step by step. Some of that growth was painful (i.e. dealing with Laban, meeting Esau and the dislocated hip), but Jacob did not give up and neither did God. It is God who sanctifies us, who purifies and sets us apart in His Kingdom. We can't grow ourselves, but we do need to be willing to participate with God and even sometimes strive with God to see Him grow us. And as we get stronger in our faith it becomes easier to give Him the glory for the good things in our lives and to tell others about God's graciousness. A growing faith increasingly points to God the giver of all things. And clearly, Jacob is quick to explain that He did not bless himself, it was God.

God, we praise you that you are the source of our faith, tests and blessings. We can't grow ourselves, cause us to be willing to participate in our spiritual growth with You so that we have a better relationship along with more trust and faith in You. Cause us to give You all the credit for all the good in our lives.

Beth Warlick, 2/8/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

God Wrestles with Jacob [Genesis 32]

^{Saturday, February 6, 2010}

⁷Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies;⁸for he said, "If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape."

⁹Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,' ¹⁰I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. ¹¹"Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.¹²"For You said, 'I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'" ¹³So he spent the night there.

²²Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had. ²⁴Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.²⁵When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. ²⁶Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." ²⁷So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." ²⁸He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."

²⁹Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. ³⁰So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."

Jacob finally came face to face with his fear. He began wrestling with God long before the physical wrestling match in the middle of the night. In this whole chapter, he came up with all kinds of plans to protect himself from losing everything. He was really afraid that now, after all these years of living with his guilt, God was going to give him what he had coming. "I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children." He tried to reason with himself out of fear by remembering God's promise, "For You said, 'I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'" Fear had gripped him and he was a desperate man.

Thankfully, God gave Jacob the middle of the night experience where he could physically see his spiritual battle. He came away a changed man because he finally recognized that God was bigger than his fear. "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." Now he was ready to meet his brother and receive what God had for him. God had even given him a new name to live out. He was no longer "the deceiver" he was now God's man, with God's name mixed into his. Later we will see that at the end of his life he proclaimed, "God has been the Shepherd of my whole life." (chapter 48)

God, You are the one who shepherds and protects us. We praise You that You are the One who conquers fear. Cause us to bring our fears to You instead of trying to take care of them ourselves. May we be willing to wrestle with You through the fear.

Thank You for your faithful love that keeps You there with us in every situation. You never leave us or forsake us.

Verna McCrillis, 2/6/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

God Sees It All [Genesis 31]

^{Friday, February 5, 2010}

²Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.³Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." ⁴So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

⁵and said to them, "I see your father's attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.

⁹"Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me. ¹⁰"And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. ¹¹"Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.'

¹²"He said, 'Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³'I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'"

For twenty years, life just happened for Jacob. He worked hard to provide for his ever growing family. He dealt with a father in law that mistreated him. "These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night." (v. 41-42) God told him it was time to go back to the land of his birth. Rachel and Leah even agreed. It was as if he woke up to the truth that God had been with him the whole time. God had watched it all and had stayed with him. Knowing that gave him courage to take the next step.

We praise You, Father, that You are a God who is always present. Nothing escapes Your attention. Even when we are caught up in the mundane routines of life, God, Your hand is there using life to direct us. May we wake up to this truth today and have courage to take the next step You are calling us to take.

Verna McCrillis, 2/5/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

God Offers Mercy [Genesis 30]

Thursday, February 4, 2010

¹Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die." ²Then Jacob's anger burned against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" ³She said, "Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children."

²²Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. ²³So she conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach." ²⁴She named him Joseph, saying, "May the LORD give me another son."

Rachel, who was loved by her husband, also struggled with jealousy. Her sister Leah was able to conceive easily, but she was barren for years. In this story you see bitterness, anger, control, manipulation. Even though she had the love of her husband, her life was miserable. But God was there in the midst of it and He never forgot Rachel. He let her flounder in her ungratefulness and then at just the right time "God gave heed to her and opened her womb." She recognized that it was God who had done the work and put her hope in Him. "May the LORD give me another son." God understood her weaknesses and knew how to gently deal with her.

This reminds me of what I have been studying in Hebrews. Jesus is my faithful High Priest who sympathizes with my weaknesses. He was tested in every way as I am (yet didn't sin in those tests). Because He has experienced all the same tests and trials that I have, He is able to deal gently with me when I am ignorant and go astray. (Hebrews 4:14-5-3) He understands! He knows my hurts and frustrations. He invites me approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence to receive mercy and to find grace in my time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

I praise You, Jesus, for giving me Your life. You came to earth, struggled and suffered for my sake. You gave Your life, once for all, so that I could receive your love and forgiveness. You took care of my sin and offered Your power (grace) for my time of need. Thank You for your mercy which is exemplified in this story. (The definition of mercy: "A special and immediate regard to the misery which is the consequence of sin.") Cause me to receive Your mercy today as You offer it.

Verna McCrillis, 2/4/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

A True Love Story [Genesis 29]

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

³¹Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³²Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."³³Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also." So she named him Simeon. ³⁴She conceived again and bore a son and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore he was named Levi. ³⁵And she conceived again and bore a son and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

"What a love story - Jacob is willing to work for seven years to have Rachel for his wife. "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her." (v. 20) But then Leah was plopped down into the middle of this story. She had watched this man's ardent love for his sister for seven years. Like most sisters, she propably was secretly attracted to Jacob also, hoping someone would love her in the same way. When her father sent her to the marriage bed instead of Rachel, offering them both to Jacob; perhaps Leah was hopeful that Jacob would love her in the same way. Her hopes were dashed, until she discovered that she was pregnant. When she birthed a son she thought God had answered her deepest prayer, that she would now be loved by her husband. "She said, 'Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.'" After the third son, she was sure her husband would now be attracted to her. Something changed for Leah after the birth of her fourth son. "And she conceived again and bore a son and said, 'This time I will praise the LORD.'" She finally found what her heart longed for. She could be content with God being who she needed in her situation.

We praise You, Lord, for ministering to Leah's heart Your great love for her. You knew what she needed most and You know what we need most. Thank You for meeting us in our deepest need with Your great love and compassion.

Verna McCrillis, 2/3/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

I Am With You and Will Keep You [Genesis 28]

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

¹⁰Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. ¹²He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. ¹⁴"Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

¹⁶Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." ¹⁷He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

Jacob had to leave town because his brother was so angry with him that his mom feared for his life. So his father sent him to get a wife from his mother's family. I can imagine the range of emotions he was feeling as he left. Sadness, empty, alone, fear, rejected, fear of the future, misunderstood, missing the people he loved - emotions I have felt when leaving home for the first time or during one of my many moves. How did God answer his feelings of rejection, sadness and fear of being alone? He gave him this truth, "Behold, I am with you." He must have had uncertainty about what the future held for him because this is one of the things the LORD addressed. "(I)will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land." What about his fear that he has been abandoned by all who loved him? Maybe even the fear that God had forsaken him because of his deceit and stealing what didn't belong to him? God includes this truth, "for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Even before He spoke those words God assured him that His promise to Abraham was to be continued through him. (I am surprised God start didn't by chewing him out about his deceit. Instead He assured him that what he did, his sin, didn't change God's purpose - God was still going to use him to bless the whole earth!)

God was so gracious to meet him in a time of deep emotion and need. What a sweet dream and what sweet words were ministered to his heart. God gave Jacob such a tangible message that when he awoke he was sure that God had been there. "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." His response was that he wanted to worship God and he wanted to make a memorial that would cause him to remember the precious words that were spoken to his heart. He did not want to forget.

Lord, we don't want to forget either. You are so gracious to meet us and answer the questions and fears that come with our pain and emotions. We praise You that You are with us to the end, You will do what You have promised. You alone are faithful. I praise You that You are with me wherever I go. You never leave or abandon me. You are taking care of me. Cause me to remember Your words today.

Verna McCrillis, 2/2/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

Sovereign God Uses Sin for His Purpose [Genesis 27]

^{Monday, February 27, 2010}

¹⁸Then he came to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" ¹⁹Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me."

²⁰Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God caused it to happen to me." ²¹Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." ²²So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." ²³He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. ²⁴And he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" And he said, "I am."

As I read this story, I realize that I have a problem with it. It just doesn't sit right with my theology. Yes, Jacob was acting in obedience to his mother but he still told intentional lies. Shouldn't God jump in and correct the wrong? Instead He uses it. Did Jacob have such strong faith that He believed that "the LORD your God caused it to happen to me," or is he using God to get what he wants? Also, rumbling around in my mind is the answer God gave Rebekah when she asked Him about her difficult pregnancy. The Lord had told her then that these two boys were struggling because there were two nations in her womb. "And the older will serve the younger." (Gen. 25:23). Is Rebekah being a conniving mother, trying to get what she wants? Or does she remember those words and is frantic that God needs her to outsmart her husband who is going to do it all wrong? Either way, she is wrong. I am sure the pain is great when later she has to send her son away.

What was Rebekah not believing about God? That God could do the impossible to accomplish His purpose. And what am I not believing? That He is so sovereign that He could also use her sin and her son's sin to unfold the future He had purposed. I am coming to recognize that I don't believe that God uses sin to accomplish good. I struggle with this because I have an age-old lie that God only loves me when I am good. I think He rewards me with love when I am good and that when I do evil He withholds love from me and instead repays me with evil. So like Rebekah, I mistrust God's love and sovereignty and try to out guess Him.

Lord, I thank You for this story that shows Your love, compassion and mercy even when we are faithless. Thank You that You would have still blessed Jacob instead of Esau even if Rebekah had not arranged it because You can do the impossible. You are able to accomplish Your sovereign purpose. I praise You that You understand our inability to believe who You are and You keep nudging us to the truth. How great is Your love that You can and do love us while we sin. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Verna McCrillis, 2/1/2010 6

Add a comment | Permalink

God Keeps On Blessing [Ge 26]

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Genesis 26

¹Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

²The LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.

³"Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

⁴"I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

⁵because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."

⁶So Isaac lived in Gerar.

Abraham did not live a perfect life, but he did obey God, kept His charge, His commandments and His statutes and His laws and God not only blessed Abraham, but those blessings were extended to his son, Issac and we will later see those blessings reaching into Jacob's life and the lives of his sons and their sons and still to this day through those of Abraham's family through faith in Jesus. We are the descendants that are of the multiplication of Abraham's line and are like those stars of heaven. We are reading about our family in these chapters and learning about God's faithfulness and abundant provision for His imperfect people.

We praise You that You are a God who fulfills Your promises to Abraham and Isaac (and through Jacob in the chapters to come). As those who believe in Jesus, we are grafted into Abraham's family tree (Romans 12) and thereby become part of God's family and are blessed. Cause us to value our heritage and keep learning about You, our true Father.

Beth Warlick, 1/30/2010

Add a comment | Permalink

If God Is Not the Focus [Ge 25]

Friday, January 29, 2010

Genesis 25

²¹Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.

In stark contrast to yesterday's reading that was so full of a God focus, today's reading barely mentions God. Except for Abraham's long and satisfying life, a result of a lifelong trusting of God, and Isaac's prayer in the verse above, there isn't much God focus to be found. What is present is Ishmael settling east of Egypt in defiance to his family and Esau and Jacob's struggle. Esau despised his birthright by not valuing it above a meal and Jacob despised his brother and took his birthright. The lesson is right there in the juxtaposition of Genesis 24 and 25. A focus on God makes all the difference in life.

We praise You God because You do make all the difference in our lives. Cause us to keep our focus on You today and in the days to come.

Beth Warlick, 1/29/2010

Add a comment | Permalink

If God Is The Focus [Ge 24]

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Genesis 24

⁷"The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.

The people in Genesis 24 show what a God focus looks like in a fairly significant situation. Abraham focused on God, His character and His guidance when He sent His servant out to find Isaac a wife. The servant kept that focus on God (vs.12-14) as he looked to God for guidance, praised God for that guidance (vs. 27) and then relayed the story of what God did with God as the centerpiece of the story. Rebekah and her family responded with a focus on God and honoring God's will in sending their daughter with Abraham's servant.

As clearly shown in this chapter of Genesis, if God is our focus, there is a simplicity to our lives as we ask Him to guide us, give us wisdom and strength. There is an aspect of worship that flows out of seeing God's hand move in preparing our way. And He becomes the center of our story as we interact with others.

I read an article this week about a woman who is watching every Oprah show, doing everything that Oprah advises and blogging about it all. According to the woman, Oprah gives a whole lot of advice on how to live your best life and much of it is just not practical for most of us. But this woman said one thing that made me think about what happens when you let someone else tell you what to do. She said it simplified her life because she didn't have to make a lot of decisions. That's exactly what I have found in my life. There is a simplicity in giving my life over for someone else to guide it. In my case, that person is not Oprah, but God, the God of Abraham and Isaac. The God we are learning about in Genesis.

About God Ge. 24

One Who blesses
God of heaven and earth
Giver of a new land
Sender of angels
Hearer of prayers
One Who answers prayers
Worthy of worship
Lovingkindness and truth
Guide
His work can be recognized and witnessed to by people
One Who prospers our way

We praise You that You are the best focus for our lives and that we can trust You to guide us through everything. Cause us to keep a focus on You and to surrender our lives to You each day that we may be well led and full of worship for You alone!

Beth Warlick, 1/28/2010

Add a comment | Permalink