His Humble Servant

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HIS HUMBLE SERVANT

Gen 41:17-40

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up — scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. 22 "In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted — withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me." 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. 28 "It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. 33 "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine." 37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

NIV

Once more Joseph remains the humble servant of the Most High God. Although the dreams of Pharaoh were revealed to Joseph he was sure to tell Pharaoh that it was God who gave Pharoah the two dreams with the same meaning to ensure he would know this was a done deal, exacted on the land of Egypt by the hand of God. Joseph remaining the humble servant simply told Pharoah he needed to find someone to put in charge of collecting all the grain for the next seven years. Interestingly, number seven appears at least three hundred times within the Old and New Testaments. Seven represents completeness, with the first example when God created, seven days are recorded. However, our story is about the humble servant of God who always gave God the credit for the spiritual knowledge given to Joseph. We do notice that Pharoah still does not understand that is the Almighty God who created all things. However, the recorded word used throughout this narrative is Elohiym, Pharoah had many gods, and we cannot be certain, that he understood the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Nevertheless, Elohiym makes sure the Pharoah decided to put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt with the exception of his throne. Here we have seen Joseph go through many ups and downs in his life, recently spending two-plus years in prison, although the warden put him in charge, and now he is the second in command of all of Egypt. All this is by the hand of God, or we could say by the will of God. Is that enough evidence to prove the sovereignty of God or the providence of God? Would that mean, Joseph was simply a pawn used by God to accomplish His plan for the House of Israel? We would have to believe this is not the case, as Joseph was a man who had been given the freedom to choose his path in life, and he chose to follow God, to always be humble before his God, and to serve and always be a witness of and for God. If God was totally in charge of all things, with man not having free will, then why would God make Joseph go through so many bad circumstances unless it was a test of Joseph’s resolve to never stop being the humble servant. This is our story. All through our lives we may have gone through difficult times, some even horrible times, almost disastrous times, as well as times when we were on top of the world, or having the best years of our lives. The secret to contentment is knowing our God, and having our faith never shaken, by any circumstances we face, as Joseph was always ready to testify it was his God who did it to prove He is the Almighty God. We should never take credit for any of our success in life, or lose hope in any of those hardships, but always testify to the greatness of our God. We cannot even say we are a humble servant, for that would be testifying about ourselves, insinuating our humility is why God has worked through us in some way. However, that is who we should be, like Joseph, His humble servant. 

Cleansed to Stand Before the Ruler

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

CLEANSED TO STAND BEFORE THE RULER

Gen 41:1-16

41:1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted — thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. 8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. 9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged." 14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." 16 "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."

NIV

Once again, we see Joseph being lifted up from a bad situation, two full years spent in prison for a crime he did not do. Yet, the cupbearer came to his senses, or he wanted to look good in the eyes of Pharaoh as not a single magician or wise man could tell Pharaoh the meaning of his dreams. We also see that Joseph was cleaned up, no one appeared before Pharaoh dirty and in rags. Before we ponder Joseph's witness, we should consider the idea of Joseph having to shave and change his clothes before coming before Pharaoh, which could have two meanings. First, it could have been Joseph's desire to clean himself up, and have some self-respect before being presented to the ultimate ruler of Egypt. Second, it could have been the command of Pharaoh that everyone who stood before him should appear clean-shaven and rightly clothed. If it is the first meaning, we understand the idea of wanting the right appearance before we stand before the Lord God Almighty, the Ultimate Ruler of the Universe. However, it has nothing to do with our physical appearance, but rather our spiritual appearance, unless we consider being clothed in the righteousness of Jesus physically. Yet, the simple fact that we have been born again, or born from above and are adopted into the family of God, being His child and co-heir with Jesus, with our names written in the Book of Life makes our appearance perfect as we stand before our Father. If the meaning is the second, and it is by the command of God that we are cleanly clothed, then unlike Joseph having to do that before appearing before Pharaoh, God is the one who cleanses us in the blood of Jesus, so that we are clean, not of our own doing, but it is all of His. There is one other thought about feeling the need to appear clean and in the right clothes and that is when we enter the sanctuary at church. However, that should only be of our own desires and never to be put upon anyone else. Even if someone unshaven and in dirty clothes walks into the sanctuary, either already washed in the blood of Jesus, or needs salvation, our hearts always need to be pure and open accepting all who seek what they need in the sanctuary of our Lord. Still, we might look at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Joseph was cleansed to stand before Pharaoh, let us be assured we have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, no matter our outer appearance. 

Forgetting Someone

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

FORGETTING SOMEONE

Gen 40:9-23

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand." 12 "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon." 16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.   17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head." 18 "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh." 20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. 23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

NIV

 this is the story of two dreams and how Joseph was given the interpretation of them, the truth for us in this story is in the last line; however, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. Joseph not only gave him a good interpretation, and he was restored to his position as the chief cupbearer, still, he was in the care of Joesph while in prison. We know God was with Joseph, and in all he did he prospered. His treatment of those in his care, or under his authority was decent and fair. Yet, once the cupbearer was restored to his position and seeing the chief baker hanged just as Joseph told him, he forgot all about Joseph. This is our story. There have been people along the way who have lifted us and helped us in our time of need. We can never forget them ever, for they are part of our story, of who we have become. Just as with Joseph, God was with those individuals who God used to bring us along in our journey with Him, mentoring us, and giving us counsel. Some were pastors but others were simply brothers in the Lord, who loved God and showed us the meaning of faith. We can never forget any of them, but we need to be careful to not stay silent about the impact they had on who we are today. That was the flaw of the cupbearer in this story, and we take our lesson from his failure not only to forget Joseph, but never speak of him to anyone, much less Pharoh, although in time, after years, we know he does remember Joseph, then it might have been to advance his view in the eyes of Pharoh. This could never be the reason we would give a witness regarding those over the years who have assisted us in our path with God. Of course, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth, still, there are those people of God who were an influence upon who we are today. I would like to list their names, but it would take longer than this devotion allows, nevertheless. Aunt Tillie, Doc, Tom & Grace Larsen, Paul Curtis, Keith and Blanche Talkington, David Reagan, Pastor Dave Scott, Pastor Paul Tinlin, Ralph Ross, Pastor Keven Wentworth, and Pastor Jim Smith, to name just a few. We can never forget them, nor be silent about their impact upon who we are today.  

He Gives the Meaning

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HE GIVES THE MEANING

Gen 40:1-8

40:1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men — the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison — had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?" 8 "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."

NIV

Before we get into the dreams of the cupbearer and the chief baker, there is a truth we should take note of. We already know that Joseph had been put in charge for the Lord was with him, and the warden saw how successful Joseph was in all he did so both the cupbearer and the chief baker were put under his care or authority. They both had dreams that caused them to be distressed, or dejected because there was no one to interpret them. They had to have been accustomed to having either the magicians or wise men to be able to interpret dreams. However, Once again, Joseph testifies to the power of the God he knows. He tells them interpretations belong to God. Here is the truth of this narrative regarding God. Everything belongs to God, even the meaning of dreams. However, is there still more than just the interpretation of a dream that belongs to God in this story? Was it not God who gave the cupbearer and chief baker their dreams, for the express reason to provide Joseph with the interpretation to continue accomplishing his plan? We have heard God moves in mysterious ways, yet are we to be ignorant of his ways? True, we know our ways are not his ways, and his ways are not our ways, but we know he can give or cause dreams and give their meaning for his purpose in the life of Joseph. We see how deep was the power of God as he works in the life of Joseph and, therefore, we also know the depth of his power working in our lives. We are more than just saved, more than just Christians who go to church every Sunday. We are even more than just being a child of God, not that being his child is nothing, for it accounts for far more than we realize. The truth here is that God is at work in us, for his purpose. Sure, he is blessing Joseph in every situation he gets put in, but he is also in those situations according to the purpose of God. This is why the Apostle Paul said that he learned to be content in every situation he was in, for he understood God had a purpose. Joseph was not dejected because of his dreams, for God was always with him and gave him their meaning. God is always with us and will give us the meaning of our lives as we journey this path in life according to his purpose. Simply put, He gives the meaning. 

Success

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SUCCESS

Gen 39:11-23

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." 16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." 19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

NIV

There are two stories here, one to warn us of and one to encourage us. The problem, or the warning has to do, at least on the surface, is a woman scorned who will seek revenge because it looked like that was the end of Joseph’s good success or good fortune. However, how is this a warning for us? Because Joseph knew the wife of Potiphar wanted to bed him, and kept after him day after day, he should have stayed as far away from her as possible and never have been in her presence without another slave, if that were any, which we believe a wealthy man such as Potiphar would have more then one slave. The warning is that we should stay away from that which could cause us spiritual harm. This could be seen in so many ways it would be difficult to deal with in just a short devotion. We know our weaknesses and our propensity to sin, so we need to always be on the defensive against those areas of our weaknesses. God has given his armor to dress in, which includes that famous shield of faith, that can and will extinguish those flaming arrows. Joseph was shot with one of those arrows and he ended up in prison although he trusted God. However, there was a plan afoot by the Almighty and even with Joseph being cast into prison the Lord was with him. This is our second story. It does not matter the circumstances we find ourselves in because God always has a plan, a purpose for our lives. Although Joseph was put in prison, the Lord was with him and showed him kindness, and granted him favor in the eyes of the warden. Soon, Joseph was in charge and the warden no longer paid any attention to his duty, as Joseph was successful in whatever he did. The key to encouragement for us is our devotion and trust in the Lord. When we are in the hands of our Lord, and when we are attentive to the Spirit within, we can be sure the purpose of God will be accomplished in our lives, and because the Lord is with us, watching over us, guiding us on the path toward his purpose we will be successful in all we do. We need to be careful not to look to other schemes that could gain us a portion of this world, but pay attention to how we can progress within the kingdom of God, or for the kingdom’s sake. Joseph was never shy about speaking of his God, and believing God would see the dreams he gave him come to fruition. Joseph must have continued to hope in God, as he continued to see the blessing of God in all he did. This is our story, we have hope in our Lord, and we have watched him over the years of our lives, blessing us over and over again. Have we had our difficulties? Sure, so did Joseph, ups and downs, over and over again, but we cannot ever give into despair, or disbelief that God has a plan for our lives, and He is the one who decided the plan for each one of us, putting us along the path according to His purpose. We believe as long as we are walking on the path, following the direction given to us, we will prosper in all we do for the kingdom. The key to everything in our lives is that the Lord is with us. 

Sin is Knocking at the Door

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SIN IS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR

Gen 39:6-10

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" 8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

NIV

Sin is always knocking at the door of our minds and hearts. Potiphar did not withhold anything in his house from Joseph, everything had been put under his care, and authority, except, of course, his wife. However, that did not deter her from wanting Joseph to go to bed with her. From Joseph's response, we know he was a righteous man and would not do something that would be a sin against God. Joseph was not perfect either, but he did not want to sin. It was his intent to be true, first to God, and to the master of the house, Potiphar. But sin kept knocking at his heart and mind, but he kept himself from yielding. Joseph did tell her about God, although in this account the Hebrew word used is Elohiym, which can be used as gods in the ordinary sense, but used in the plural it specifically refers to the Supreme God. How Potiphar’s wife understood it could have been different considering how many gods the Egyptians had. Joseph was the first Israelite to be employed and thus have influence in Egypt, so he would be the first to speak of the supreme God. His intent was not to sin against his God and from this account we know he was successful in keeping himself from sinning against God, and his master Potiphar. A question we heard has had an impact on our thinking. It was posed as if we had an opportunity to sit and have coffee with Jesus, what would our first question be. The actor who portrayed Jesus in the chosen answered, “How did I do?. That is the question of a lifetime. How did Joseph do?  From this account so far, God would say, “Very good”. How would Jesus respond to us if we ask Him that question? What we know is that because we have accepted him as Lord and Savior, He would respond, “Very good”. All Joseph knew was Elohiym, the Supreme God, and works or self-effort to keep oneself from God’s wrath is all he had to withstand the sin knocking at the door of his heart and mind. Of course, we should make every effort to keep ourselves from yielding to that sin that knocks or tucks at our hearts and minds, but we also live within the grace of God. Therefore, if we were able to sit and have coffee with Jesus, and asked, “How did we do?” He would say,” Very well, because you are in me, and I am in you”. Still, we need to be aware of that sin knocking at our door. 

His Purpose

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HIS PURPOSE

Gen 39:1-6

39:1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

NIV

Everything Joseph did was successful for one reason and one reason only; the LORD was with him. Why was the LORD with him? The answer to that question must be on account the LORD had a plan for Joseph’s life. We know the plan because we have read this story through to the end of the life of Joseph, but at this point in the narrative, we are simply told the LORD was with him. Surely Joseph was not without abilities and one of organization and governance were among his gifts. However, the key to everything in Joseph’s life and success in all he did was; that the Lord was with him. Here is where the storyline interjects into our storyline. We understand there are many people today who have become very successful, and many of them are Christians. The church, in general, has become one of successful wealthy people, at least in the Western Church. Of course, there are people, even Christian people who live in impoverished conditions. If there is this chasm or large diversity within the church, how can we determine if the Lord is with some who prosper and not with some who do not prosper? Surely Joseph was working in the wealth system of his time, as Potipher was a wealthy man in his world within Egypt. Is not the Lord with all of us believers? Because we know he is, we could also say that the Lord intends for us all to prosper. We know from the 1^st Psalm that if we do not take from the ungodly, or walk in the same way they do, or sit in the seat of mockers, which could be seen as giving God mouth service, and we are planted by the stream of water, living water, Jesus, putting our roots in the Jesus, the word of God, we will bear fruit in our season, our leaves will not wither, and all we do will prosper. Whether that means financially, we cannot be sure. Still, we know that if we meet those conditions, living fully in the grace of God, hearing his voice, and witnessing to that voice, as Joseph did before his brothers and father, we might experience rough patches. Still, ultimately because the Lord is with us, we will gain eternal life. How is that not prospering beyond measure? Yes, Joseph prospered within the standards of his world, and the culture he was in, and may cause many to prosper in that same way in our culture, however, then we are faced with the favoritism of God, which we know does not exist. Did God show favoritism to Joseph, and not the rest of his family? We know that he used Joseph to save the rest of his family from starvation because of the famine in the land they were in. It still boils down to the fact the Lord was with him, for the His plan. This is our story, the Lord is with us, and as long as we are listening, we will know his plan for our lives, which is ultimately to prosper for all eternity in his presence. What happens in the in-between is regarding His purpose. 

An Accomplished Plan

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

AN ACCOMPLISHED PLAN

Gen 38:24-30

24 About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!" 25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are." 26 Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again. 27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28 As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!" And he was named Perez.   30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.  

NIV

First, we should note that the birth of the twins is similar to the birth of Jacob and Esau with Jacob being the heal grabber. Strangely, this should happen in the same family tree. However, what is of special note is that because Judah was going to have her burned alive until he found out she was not a prostitute but because he refused to do what was right or righteous by giving her to his youngest son, she became pregnant by Judah. He stated she was more righteous than he was. Therefore, her son Perez would continue the line of Judah through David to Jesus. Tamar is in the line of Jesus. What is the story, the truth we are supposed to glean from this narrative? How does this apply to us? Once again, Neither Judah nor Tamar were perfect people and yet through the divine direction of Almighty God, their descendants would bring forth the Son of God. Mary was a descendant of David through his son Nathan, the brother of Solomon, of whom Joseph was a descendent. Therefore, Jesus, the Son of God as a man was fully from the line of David and would rule on the throne of David forever. God brought his Son into the world through imperfect people, even David was guilty of a grievous sin, and yet he is the only man in the bible that God testified as a man after His own heart. So this narrative of Judah and Tamar proves once again God uses imperfect people to accomplish his divine will. This gives us hope and encouragement that in our imperfectness God will still use us to accomplish his divine plan both for our own lives and those we have the opportunity to influence, either through our lives, actions, or words. Then, on the other hand, even though it may seem we are not being very useful to the kingdom of God, one of our descendants could be the game changer for the kingdom. It could be of our own gene pool, a natural descendant, or it could be a spiritual descendent, one whom through we were instrumental in their being in the kingdom, by our witness of what God did in our imperfect lives. What we know as fact, is that God will always accomplish His plan in and through us, as he did through Judah and Tamar. This was just another accomplished plan. 

Lies and Deception

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

LIES AND DECEPTION

Gen 38:12-23

12 After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him. 13 When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," 14 she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you." "And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked. 17 "I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said. "Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked. 18 He said, "What pledge should I give you?" "Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again. 20 Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said. 22 So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.'" 23 Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."

NIV

Is there no end to dysfunction within this family? Now, it is the son of Israel who has betrayed or simply lied to his daughter-in-law, Tamar. First, we see his father Jacob, now known as Israel, betray his brother and father Isaac or merely lie to him, and then Laban deceives Jacob regarding Rachel and Leah. Now another generation is still doing the same thing. Judah had promised Tamar that when his youngest son was old enough he would give her as his wife, but he failed to fulfill his promise which resulted in Tamar deceiving him. Without going any further recounting all the events unfolded to us within this narrative, we are back at the basic truth of our lives as believers. Although God is absolutely faithful in keeping his promises, and extremely faithful to always speak the truth, we, in our weak and frail human condition may not be as faithful in keeping our promises or in always speaking the truth. We do not think that we fail both permanently, and on a premeditated basis, it is we simply fail. It is best to let our yes be yes and our no be no rather than to promise something we may not be either able or willing to do when the time comes to be fulfilled. Of course, our vow to our spouse is a promise we will keep to our last breath, but we have witnessed within the church that some have broken that promise. It would be a sad thing for any believer to also become a laughingstock because of our failures, and consequentual behaviors. We are supposed to speak the truth to each other, rather than being deceptive in any way, which could result in one of us being hurt all the more. Once again, let our yes be yes and our no mean no, being truthful and forthright in our interactions, at least that should be our goal. We may fail, but hopefully not intentionally or deceitfully. Both Judah and Tamar failed intentionally, and deceitfully. Let us make every effort to do which leads to peace and mutual edification, as we live in truth. 

Life or be put to death

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

LIFE OR  BE PUT TO DEATH

Gen 38:1-11

38:1 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her; 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him. 6 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother." 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so he put him to death also. 11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

 

There is only one story here: be careful not to do wicked or be wicked in the LORD’s sight. Of course, we live in the age of grace because Jesus who is God came in our form as a human and paid the price, himself, for our wickedness. Before that time we can see that the LORD would not put up with men who were wicked and put them to death. We also know there are only two classes of types of people who live in the world today. First, there are the saved, and second, are the wicked. We understand that we are not the ones to make these distinctions between these two as God is. We also know the only reason there are two is that one of those types has accepted the provision God make, by his grace, for them to escape the penalty of wickedness, being put to death. The other type, those who still practice those wicked lives, refusing to come to saving faith through Jesus, will at that last day be put to death, and that means the second death. We know it is appointed that all of us humans will die once and that all people will be resurrected to stand before the throne of God for the final judgment.   We who have accepted the grace of God will be judged as doing good and will go on to live eternally in the kingdom of God. However, those who refused Jesus will be deemed wicked and be put to their second death.  The only difference between being judged good, or righteous and bad or wicked, is who is in or out of Jesus. As far as how we live within this world there is none righteous, no not one, for all sin, we all do wicked in God’s sight. However, if we are washed in the blood of Jesus, that is we have been born from above, or born again, living by faith in Jesus, and filled with the Spirit as our guarantee, then we are holy and blameless in the LORD’s sight. At the same time, it is also painful to know people we know and love, even family might not see the eternal bliss but be sent to their second death. How can we convince them? We can’t! That is the work of the Holy Spirit, all we can do is be a witness, telling of what God did for and in us. We can only testify to what we have seen or happened to us. Each person must make their own choice as did Er and Onan who decided to be wicked and both were put to death. All people must choose to either life or be put to death.

God is at Work

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

GOD IS AT WORK

Gen 37:21-36

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. 22 "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe — the richly ornamented robe he was wearing —  24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?" 31 Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe." 33 He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces." 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.

NIV

We are surprised that Reuben did not agree with his brothers regarding killing Joseph. Was not Reuben also upset over Joseph’s dreams? Reuben was the oldest son, born to Leah, Israel’s first wife. Perhaps he had some sense of the pain all the brothers would cause his father, for his intent was to take Joseph back to him. But that plan was not to be for when Rueben was absent from the others they decided to sell Joseph to merchants. Once again, they knew the pain they would cause their father and they did not care for their hatred of Joseph drove them into an evil act, both to Joseph and their father. We are faced with this hate becoming an act of evil once more. We do know the whole story, and that later Joseph realized, that although they did an evil act against him, God intended it for good. That leads us to our lives in this world and in church. Have we ever experienced any evil act or acts against us that caused a change in our path which ultimately revealed that God intended that for our good so that we would be in a place of His design? As we reflect back on our lives, can we say this is true? We have had many setbacks, many times when the circumstances seemed against us. We have gone through difficult times, stretching or testing our faith. Were they caused by some evil plot of our enemy, the world under the control of the hater of our soul, or was it the plan that was to bring about the good God intended for us? What we know is that we have been experiencing God’s good for some time, and have been where he has intended all along. God knew the good he was going to bring about in the life of Joseph which ultimately was for the good of all the family of Israel. When God works good in our lives, it is not just for us, but so that He can cause good for the rest of our family, perhaps our birth family, but surely the rest of the family of God. We know God is always working for our good no matter what happens along the way, to bring us into the right place, both spiritually and physically.  God is at work. 

Ruled by Hatred

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

RULED BY HATRED

Gen 37:12-20

12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them." "Very well," he replied. 14 So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?" 16 He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?" 17 "They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 9 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. 20 "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."

NIV

The story of the plot thickens as we first see Israel sending his favorite son, who did not go with all the other sons to graze the flocks, to find out how they are doing. We know Israel kept those dreams of Joseph in his mind and he must have known how his other sons felt about Joseph. We wonder why he would then send him alone into the open range to find his brothers. Then we are told when they saw him coming toward them they started to plot how they could kill him. Here is the truth we need to pay attention to. Revenge is an awful emotion or attitude of the heart. We also know we would not find this attitude in the church, but in this world, it does run rampant to coin a phrase, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world”. We have been taught by our Lord to always turn the other cheek when we have been offended. Of course, we would think we would never have to turn the other cheek within the body of Christ. However, this revengeful attitude turned into action from the brothers against Joseph. Hatred is what festered the mindset of revenge. We should always be on guard regarding having any ill feelings about anyone, especially within the church, although that should also apply as we live in the world. To love and hate at the same time is completely impossible, as we cannot serve two masters. There was no love in the hearts of those brothers, for their hatred turned to an action even against their own father, causing him a great deal of pain. What we see is that our actions toward others also affect even more people than we might know. If we are demonstrating love to everyone, someone else will find out, and if by chance we express some negative comment, we can be sure others are going to find that out as well, for we know one thing for sure that gossip is doing well in the world and in the church. This hurt against their father was due to their willingness to lie to him about what happened to his favorite son. We can also be sure lies will eventually be found out. We know none of this horrible family drama happens within the body of Christ, but we must be aware that we are always being watched out in the world, we are always being a witness for Jesus, one way or another. Let us always be a witness for and of Jesus in both the church and the world, ruled by love and not by how the brothers were ruled by hatred. 

Equality

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

EQUALITY

Gen 37:5-11

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." 8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

NIV

With the two dreams of Joseph, we are not told God appeared to him in his dreams. However, because his dreams were prophetic it would make perfect they were caused by God, for there would be no human way that Joseph would have that type of dream. We know the whole story for we have read it many times and, in fact, they all bow down to him when he became the second in command in Egypt. What do we learn from this narrative? Is it his dream? Is it because he told his brothers and father? Is it because they got the point and hated him even more? Or is it because his father rebuked his favorite son? However, we see that it turned out his brothers were jealous of him. Jealousy might be the reason for so much hatred. The Hebrew word translated as jealous is in the negative sense and also implies envious. Once again, this dysfunctional family is shown to us, but we think our lesson is about two emotions, one of Joseph and one of his brothers. First, we think Joseph could have been prideful knowing how his brothers already felt about him, so that by telling them his dreams he was kind of lord it over them, giving them the idea they were less than he was, that they would bow down to him. We know pride comes before the fall, and on the surface it sure appeared Joseph fell, being sold into slavery by his brothers. Nevertheless, we in the church, in the assembly of the righteous, would never have a reason to be prideful because we all will inherit the same eternal life. However, when it comes to either the goods of the world or our position in the body of Christ, pride might just sneak in at times, if we are not mindful and carefully guard against pridefulness. Secondly, envy or being envious of another either because of the goods of this world, or the position in the body of Christ is also not a good feeling or attitude for a follower of Jesus. We should be aware with God, we are all equal, as Jesus died for all of us and our inheritance is all the same. Let us then live as equals in the church, each doing the part God has gifted us with for the benefit of all. If there is truly or should be true equality within the body of Christ, with all of us serving the same God and each other,  then there will be no pride or envy. 

Dysfunctionality

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

DYSFUNCTIONALITY

Gen 37:1-4

37:1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

NIV

Are we still observing another example of a dysfunctional family? First, Joseph needs to do better than bringing a bad report about his brothers or rather his half-brothers because they had different mothers. Nevertheless, we do not think Joseph should have snitched or perhaps even fabricated a bad story about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, who for all practical purposes were members of the twelve sons, or tribes of Israel. Then we see that Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, showing favoritism to Joseph by making him a coat of many colors, or a richly ornamented robe. It is a good thing for us that God does not show favoritism as he has first offered his son on the cross for everyone. Jesus, not showing favoritism, sent the Holy Spirit to all who accepted him as their Lord and Savior, which is free for anyone who responds to the convicting power of the Spirit and comes to saving faith. So for all who believe, we all have the Holy Spirit within us, without favoritism, equally given to each believer. Of course, it is up to each believer whether they yield completely to the Spirit, or if they quench Him in some way. Yet, the Spirit does not show favoritism as he freely gives to all who receive him all his fruit and gifts, just as the Father gives without favoritism all his armor so we can fight the evil around us and win. Then we see this hatred of the brothers, because of their jealousy due to the favoritism of their father toward Joseph and they could not say one kind word to him. Surely, the church is not like that, having jealousy to the point of not having a kind word to say to that person who seems to have more than we do. For one we all have eternal life, equally sharing in the inheritance of God. Secondly, we all have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, equally receiving his work in us, manifesting his fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Again, is it possible some might hold him back, quenching him, so they refuse to be kind, patient, or good toward others? We think it is good to realize that we all have the same Father, and we are all born from above, therefore we are truly fully brothers and sisters, the same family, that on all accounts should never have a reason to be dysfunctional. 

Sight or Faith

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

SIGHT OR FAITH

Gen 36

36:1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite —  3 also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7 Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir. 9 This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. 12 Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah. 13 The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 14 The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon,whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam and Korah. 15 These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah. 17 The sons of Esau's son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath. 18 The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs. 20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs. 22 The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister. 23 The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam. 24 The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 25 The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 26 The sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran. 27 The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan. 28 The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir. 31 These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned: 32 Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king. 34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. 35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king. 39 When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. 40 These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied. This was Esau the father of the Edomites.

NIV

What can we say about all this, or learn from the fact that Esau was the father of the Edomites? The descendants of Esau became a great nation, and we know they did not serve the Lord God Almighty. What happened to Esau, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham that all his descendants would be at war with Israel, especially Judah? We know there was a major difference between the origin of the wives of Jacob and those of Esau. We know because Isaac insisted that Jacob go to someone of his own clan to find a wive rather than take a wive from the Canaanites, that is exactly what Esau did, taking wives from the line of Ishmael. We know that Jacob and Esau had settled their differences, but because Esau left and became the nation of Edom, and Jacob became the father of the nation of Israel we know later they would be at war with each other. King David would kill thousands of Edomites, and they would attack Judah and carry off many prisoners. What happened to cause all this division and war? It has to be because Esau left the God of his father and took on the foreign gods of his foreign wives as his own, thus causing a great divide of Ideologies. This could be our lesson in that we have a much different Ideology than the world. We follow the God of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham, as we live by faith rather than by sight, while those of the world do the exact opposite, living by sight rather than by faith. We serve God, they serve themselves or gods of their own making. Two totally opposite ideologies that can never be at peace with one another. Of course, we make efforts to convert them to our way of thinking or rather God’s way of thinking. Yet, it was, is, and will always be the work of the Spirit to convict of sin in a person’s life and show them the need to repent, change the way they think, leave their false gods behind, and come to saving faith in the God Almighty. However, until that happens and the people of the world continue to serve their false god, mainly Satan, we will always be of different ideologies, and many of them attack the house of Judah, the church, and in some cases, their false gods, their false teachers, and preachers have carried off prisoners. However, the Spirit has also killed many in a sense bringing them from the darkness into the light. What will also be is this divide in our ideologies, and we can never take on their false gods, never living by sight, for we are the people of faith.

                                                                                                                                                                             

According to His Good Purpose

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

ACCORDING TO HIS GOOD PURPOSE

Gen 36:1-8

36:1 This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite —  3 also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. 7 Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock. 8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.

NIV

We are about to enter lists of wives, sons, and daughters of Esau and his descendants, plus those of strangers, non-Israelites, people, and kings in Edom that have little significance at this time but will at some later date. Nevertheless, we will not find a truth for our lives within such a list. However, we do find it interesting that Esau was the one who moved away from the place he had settled in for many years, the land of promise given to his grandfather Abraham. This left Jacob or Isreal to occupy the land of promise, which is how it must be for the nation of Isreal to be living in the land God promised to their father Abraham. For Esau to concede the land he had to his brother took both courage and humility considering how he felt at the time Jacob stole both his birthright and blessing. That could be our lesson regarding living with humility giving way to others. However, it is also interesting how God intervened in this situation, perhaps inspiring Esau to leave, so that Isreal would be where he was supposed to be according to God’s good purpose. This is also a lesson for us in that we should always be aware, being in touch with our wonderful counselor, our mighty God, our everlasting Father, so that we are always in the right place according to his good pleasure and purpose. That place can be in the physical, material, and spiritual sense. We think the spiritual would be the most important, living in the realm of the kingdom of God, listening and obeying the voice of the Spirit who lives within. This would include having the Spirit manifest all His fruit in our relationships, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. We would also think God would want us to live according to his definition of love, which he inspired Paul to write to the Corinthians. Both those combined with gifts of the Spirit would fit into both the physical and Spiritual sense. However, physical condition could also be applied to where we live, as we see with Esau and Jacob. It could mean the exact city, home, and place of worship. It can also apply to our material state, as we learn to be content, perhaps knowing what it is to have plenty and be in want. Living without envy, jealousy, or pride. We know that our Heavenly Father is sovereign and that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and we are the sheep of his pasture. So we should be following him, being in the place, physically, materially, and spiritually according to his good purpose for our lives. 

Old and Full of years

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

OLD AND FULL OF YEARS

Gen 35:21-29

21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons: 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram. 27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

NIV

We have come to the end of the life of Isaac, the father of Esau and Jacob. Once again there is a story related to the actions of Reuben, but to focus on a sin, if indeed that was a sin because Bilhah was a handmaiden, although the idea of a concubine has been introduced to us. We needed to explore Hebrew to find this concubine, which is also used as a paramour or an illicit partner of a married person. The English word paramour is similar to lover, significant other, mistress, kept woman, beloved, and others. Even though Jacob heard of it, we are not told he was upset, angry, filled with rage, or any emotion whatsoever, so why then were we told of this act of Reuben is unclear. However, the story to focus on is the testimony of the life of Isaac. Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years, old and full of years. The Hebrew is clearer as it reads, Isacc lived satisfied abounding days. What this means to us is that Isaac had no regrets, he lived his life to the fullest with all he had within him. His days, or years were satisfying and full, and then he just breathed his last. Whether he lay on a death bed old without the strength to stand, we do not know. From the time of the blessing of Jacob and Esau, we were told that Isaac was in bed, nearly blind, and wanted to give his blessing before he died. Yet Jacob spent twenty years in the service of Laban and had time to have twelve sons, bury his beloved Rachel, and reconcile with Esau while coming home. Yet twenty-plus years ago, it looked to us that Isaac was near death. However, he must not have been, for he was full of years, and lived satisfied days. That is where our story intersects with this narrative. We too will live full of years, the reason being that we are in Christ, and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within. All our days are fully satisfied no matter our condition or situation because we live for Jesus, we are the sheep of his pasture, he leads us, guides us, protects us, provides for us, heals us, and most of all saves us from our sins because His name is Jesus. When the angel visited Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, for the baby in her was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that he was to be named Jesus and he would save his people of their sins. How can our days, or years not be satisfied, full of life till we breathe our last and be gathered to our Lord? This is our story, our life’s testimony, and we hope and pray our epitaph will read; He was a faithful servant of the Lord, old and full of years. 

At His Right Hand

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

AT HIS RIGHT HAND

Gen 35:16-20

16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." 18 As she breathed her last — for she was dying — she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.

NIV

We are now introduced to the last son of Isreal, Benjamin, the beloved brother of Joseph whom we see how that all played out in the story of the famine in the land. However, we are also at the moment of Rachel’s last breath, the beloved wife of Jacob, the one he first laid eyes upon at the well, and agreed to work for another seven years for her to be his wife, after Laban deceived him giving him Leah, Rachel’s older sister after his first seven years of labor. Now Jacob, or Israel as God calls him must bury his dearly loved wife. This had to be one of the most difficult and sad moments in Jacob's life. Still, there is this difference in naming this twelfth son. Rachel gave him a name that meant son of my trouble while Jacob gave him the name that meant son of my right hand. Although Jacob favored Joseph greatly, in fact, so much the other sons became so jealous they got rid of Joseph, still that was all part of the plan of God. Yet Benjamin was given the name of honor in the household because he was at the right hand of Israel. Here is where our story can intermingle with this narrative. Of course, we could focus on the loss of a spouse, for generally it is always going to happen at some time in our lives, but we want to focus on the right hand of Israel. When Jesus ascended back into the heavenly realm He sat down at the right hand of the Father, the place of honor. In the Revelation that was given to John, Jesus said that those who overcome He will give the right to sit with him on his throne, at the right hand of the Father, a place of honor. However, the condition is that we must overcome. In this particular situation Jesus is revealing to John it is a reference to not being lukewarm. Although Jesus would rather we be cold or hot, than lukewarm, those who overcome must be the ones who are hot, for cold in our faith is simply not going to make it. However, this lukewarm, or as the Greek means, tepid, is not the way to live. But what does tepid look like? What does a lukewarm faith look like? Could it be something like sort of believing what the word of God says? Could it be something like kind of being in Jesus for salvation, but not believing God or Jesus for all aspects of our lives? Could it be like looking to our good deeds as fulfilling our faith, but not looking to Jesus for faith for our daily bread? There could be many scenarios that might fit this lukewarm condition, yet we wonder if that can be seen in our worship. Do we just mouth the words of worship songs in a lukewarm effort? Although it might be seen as some becoming over-emotional in their worship, perhaps they are simply being hot in their faith in Jesus. However, we think this being hot in our faith must apply to the wholeness of our lives and when that happens it is reflected in our manner of worship when we gather together. But it is the completeness of our lives that makes us the overcomer who Jesus gives the right to sit with Him at the right hand of God. Let us look to Jesus who creates within us the heat of living as an overcomer, at the right hand of God. 

The Name Change

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE NAME CHANGE

Gen 35:8-15

8 Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth. 9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.  

NIV

Although we are told about the nurse of Rebekah’s death and her burial, the story here is about God appearing to Jacob once more. As we travel through the life of Jacob we have already seen God appearing to him, his struggle with God, God bless him, speaking to him, and once again God shows up and reestablishes this new name of Jacob as Israel. God did that before back when Jacob struggled with God. But now it appears God wants Jacob to go by the name Israel, to have people refer to him as Israel. This is a game changer because, as we know, Jacob means “heal grabber” or “Supplanter” and Israel means, “Struggle with God”. Of course, we too have been given a new name when we turned our lives over to God, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That moment that happened, the event in our lives caused us to have a new change from, “Sinner, which is the Greek word that means, devoted to sin, while the Hebrew word means to miss, as in miss the mark, sinfully wicked, or new name is, child of God. It does not matter when in our lives that moment happened, as when we were born, we entered this world a sinner, and God intervened along our way through life and caused that name change the moment we heard him speak to us and bless us, as we see he did change Jacob to Israel. We see that this new name happened as God appeared and talked to Jacob. We would think that is the only way we can have this new name as well. We cannot change our name. We cannot decide we will be called a child of God, just as Jacob could not decide his name would be Israel. We cannot decide to change the way we live, that is from being a sinner to being righteous. All of this change must be due to the work of God within us. It must be due to God showing up in our lives, perhaps even appearing to us, speaking to us, or performing a miracle before us, but definitely intervening in our lives somehow, telling us of our new name. We may not set up a pillar and pour oil over it, but we must make some sign of our encounter with God, however, we do that could be within our hearts, or of the new direction of our lives. Maybe we have to set up a pillar in our hearts and pour oil on it, dedicating that place to God. Surely, God has poured the blood of Jesus over the doorpost of our hearts, and He calls our hearts his place where he speaks with us. As we have this new name, we too, like Israel's meaning, struggle with God. We struggle with Him because of our old nature, our human nature, wanting our way, but at the same time wanting His way within us. It can be a struggle living with God, having Him direct our ways, and order our footsteps. Yet, we make that effort to follow him, to listen to him, to desire his blessing in our lives, as we walk with God, with our new name. 

When God Speaks, Listen

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, LISTEN

Gen 35:1-7

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, "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." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

NIV

The first thing we wondered was, why there were foreign gods among the camp of Jacob. Then we remembered the two sons, Simeon and Levi, who took all the women and children from the town of Hamor and Shechem after killing all the males. Most likely some of the women carried their gods with them. Perhaps they were made of gold and the sons took them as plunder. However, the major point, once again, is that God spoke to Jacob, giving him instructions to go to Bethel and settle there and to build an altar to God. Interestingly, it is Elohiym who talks to him telling him to build the altar to El, which is the shortened name of the Almighty. However, God is referred to, He is still the LORD God Almighty, and when he speaks everyone who professes Him to be their God should, no, must listen to his voice and his instructions, which sometimes we call His commands. We know He has given us the free will to ignore his instructions, but Jacob did not and made everyone in his household get rid of any foreign gods and purify themselves, changing their clothes. Here is where we pick up our story. Because we believe God and accept His provision for our salvation through Jesus Christ, who is now our Lord and Savior, we must get rid of all our foreign gods, purifying ourselves by changing our clothes. Of course, that sounds strange because we live in a completely different culture and simply changing our clothes has no meaning to us in relationship to purifying ourselves. However, if they were all going to follow God’s instructions, everything they worshipped had to be buried and then needed to be cleansed and wear clean clothes. We too must bury anything we worship, that is not the Lord God Almighty. Jesus taught that we cannot serve two masters, God and money, although that represented all the ways of the world, or the world’s system, thus a foreign god. We also do not just change our clothes, but change our hearts, not just cleansing our outside but having Jesus cleanse our inside, just as Jesus told the Pharisees about being like a cup, clean on the outside, but dirty inside. However, after we have done all that, being cleansed inside and ridding ourselves of the world system, we must first listen to the voice of God and then follow his instructions as to where to go, where to stay, what to do, and where to worship. In other words, our lives do not belong to us, but to God, and for his purpose. It is true, that we need a place to live, clothes, food, cars, and all the stuff that entails living in this culture, but we cannot put more value on all the things God adds to our lives than on God alone, as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Jacob took all his belongings, and what would have been his wealth with him, but he followed the voice of God above all else. God does not insist we are poor or have no wealth, but he requires that we put him above all else. Let us not get distracted by the stuff we have, but always give him glory for whatever we have, while we are constantly attentive to His voice, doing that which He desires, or we could say, requires from us. We recall an old commercial, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen”, however, for us, it is, “When God speaks, listen”. 

Proper or Improper

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

PROPER OR IMPROPER

Gen 34:25-31

25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed." 31 But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

NIV

We are not in agreement with what Simeon and Levi did regarding being deceptive for the express reason of rendering all the men of that town completely helpless because of the pain of circumcisions so they could attack and kill them all. Jacob was not in agreement with what they did as well because now the other Canaanites and Perizzites would find out what happened in that town and Jacob was afraid he could not overpower them if they decided to respond or enact vengeance. We do not see Jacob angry because of the unrighteous or deceptive actions of his sons, but just because he feels he has become a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites. In defense of Simeon and Levi, they were defending, in sorts, the honor of their sister, or enacting revenge for what Shechem did to their sister. We also notice that Hamor did not disagree with what his son did but accepted it as normal. What do we learn here? As believers we should always be thinking in honorable ways, as well as what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. That is not what happened in the minds of Simeon and Levi. We also think that because we should be thinking about those we listed, that would include always being in a forgiving frame of mind. It would mean we are always looking for the best in others, loving each other as Jesus loves us. We would always be kind, gentle, and patient with each other and we would never be envious, boastful, rude, self-seeking, or prideful. In addition, we would never keep a record of anyone’s wrongs and we would always protect, hope, and persevere, never giving up on anyone. We would think that is how we treat our own body, so we would then treat the body of Christ in the same manner. So we learn not to be like Simeon or Levi, but to be like Jesus. We cannot mimic improper thinking but only mimic Jesus. So it comes down to proper or improper. 

Agreements true or False

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

AGREEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE

Gen 34:18-24

18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. 21 "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22 But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23 Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." 24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

We see that Hamor and Shechem are being deceptive in accepting the proposal of the sons of Jacob, whose proposal was one of deceit. Neither of them are dealing honestly with this proposal. The Sons had a plan knowing that circumcision of an adult male is extremely painful, and all the men of the city would be unable to defend their town or their lives. Hamor and Shechem saw this as an opportunity to absorb or steal all the property of Jacob and his sons, at least that is what they told all the men of the city. In essence, everyone was looking out for their best interests to see their plans being fulfilled. This could be our lesson as to how we live in a culture that seems not much different from what we see happen in the culture of Hamor and Shechem. We think most people in our culture have grown up learning about making plans for their lives, and getting the right education while being trained by the educational system to think about how they can succeed in life, and what they need to accomplish their own goals and ambitions. Phrases like, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there” or “be self-reliant” or “be a self-starter if you want to get ahead” seem to be popular in our culture, In essence, most people are looking out for their own interests. However, in the church, in the body of Christ, in the community of faith, followers of Jesus know differently. We know it is better because we have learned from Jesus to love one another and to think of the interests of others as well as our own. Paul talks about that in his letter to the Philippians, but Jesus taught that he did not come to be served by to serve, in other words, he put our interests before his own, laying down his life and taking it back up for our interests, so we could have eternal life. We do not think Jesus expects us to lay our lives down for others, although all those who served in the armed forces, and especially those who lost their lives, gave up their own interests for others, unless their making a career in the military was for their own benefit. However, the point is that we are to serve each other, looking to benefit each other in some way. As we follow the plan of God for our lives, we should see how God has placed us where we can serve others. We do not think that we should be so self-seeking, self-concerned, or self-centered that everything we do for ourselves in one way or another. Our first priority is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. When, if, we do that God will add whatever we need in this world, even if we do not run after it like the pagans do. But we cannot run after God just for the stuff he will give us, that too would be self-centered, like Hamor and Shechem's thinking was deceptive wanting to gain all that was Jacobs, by agreeing to follow their custom of circumcision, as was the son’s of Jacob making a deceptive agreement with them.  It is always best to simply follow Jesus, and live in true agreement with Him.

 

 

The Offense

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

THE OFFENSE

Gen 34:1-17

34:1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. 3 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. 4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife." 5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. 6 Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7 Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter — a thing that should not be done. 8 But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it." 11 Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife." 13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go."

NIV

This is a long narrative and only a portion of the whole encounter between the sons of Israel and the Hivites, particularly Shechem and his father Hamor. First, we think it was not right for Dinah a woman of that era to leave her father's house unescorted, by either one of her brothers, a manservant, or a maidservant, to visit the women of the land. Traveling alone would have left her vulnerable and that is exactly what happened as Shechem took her by force and lay with her. Even in our culture rape is a criminal offense, however, we wonder because of the Hebrew words used here to describe this offense whether Dinah was completely non-compliant. When we use Hebrew we see to occupied or to oppress, to humble, to bowed down, to be together lying down, and some translators use defile or rape as the offense. We do not know exactly what that exchange looked like other than Shechem’s heart was drawn to Dinah. We would think because his heart was drawn to Dinah and he wanted her for a wife, his defiling of her would not have been violent, or brutal, in overpowering her against her will, but perhaps wooing her into his arms. However, it was still considered outside the rules of conduct by the sons of Isreal as they served God, and a Hivite would have been a pagan, and should not have violated their sister. Still, for them to be filled with fury was not the greatest of responses. Either way, this was improper behavior between a man and a woman in that period. Of course, today it is difficult to determine what is right and wrong in the conduct between men and women of this world, however, within the church, mutual respect is one of the highest responsibilities.  A Christian man should always respect a Christian woman’s rights. Because love is at the highest of commands, it would mean never doing harm to another and thus always remaining with the purest of honor toward each other. Shechem did not act in this manner, and we know we should not judge a person who lived in an era thousands of years before ours, however, according to Isreal and his sons, he wronged their sister and what happened next was not honorable on their part either. Let us always be honest, pure, and honorable in our relationships with all others so that we do not become an offense to another.