|
So glad you've joined us for the devotional reading for Finishing Well! If you've been with us for a while, you've noticed we've moved from a "5 day Monday through Friday" focus to a "one shot" that you can read & reflect on throughout the week however you'd like. This year my hope is we deal with "certain special weekends" as we already have, such as "Martin Luther King" day, the "transition of power" in our country, the "sanctity of life" annual reminder, and even a prayer focus on moments like "the California fires". On the other weeks, I'm involving some guest writers for special occasions. But on "non-special weeks", I'd love to look at Bible characters, and try "to make simplicities out of their complexities", if that makes sense. In other words, boil down the essence of their struggle, journey, calling, and character. And in doing that I hope we can see how they tried their best to "finish well". Some did. Some didn't. Now I'm guessing some of you are involved in a "read through the Bible in a year" series, so I wanna try to go in sequence for these type of weeks that deal with random characters or books of the Bible that might be close where you are reading at the time. If you are, you should be coming off of the life of Jacob soon in your reading, if you haven't already. So let's give him a shot today! We'll cover Genesis 27–36. The BIRTH RITE BLUES (Chapter 27) For Jacob & his twin brother Esau, it started out rough & got worse as it went. What didn't help was that their parents, Isaac & Rebekah BOTH played favorites! That never turns out good! Neither did it help that Jacob was an opportunist who took advantage of his brother when he was exceptionally hungry. It did reveal that Esau "despised his birthright", which means he "disregarded, disrespected & just plain old dissed it"! He didn't VALUE it highly enough for what it was… a gift from God. Later on, after his childhood years of not being dad's favorite, Jacob is guided by his mother to deceive her husband, Isaac, when it comes time for the "blessing" to be given to the first born, Esau, as Isaac's vision is fading & is about to pass away. Rebekah and Jacob orchestrate a plan for him to receive the blessing right in front of his father's failing eyes. It comes as no surprise that all heck breaks loose when Esau discovers this and Jacob has to run for his life! QUESTION...have you ever had a situation that to overcome or recover from it, you "had to get out if Dodge"? Just so you know that's a little metaphor from the TV series "Gunsmoke", which means "relocate or get in a witness protection program". Just trying to help you think how Jacob might've felt at this point. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (ch 28) So Jacob is now "on his own" for the first time in his life. That's usually a great time to hear from God and Jacob does. It actually happens in a dream with a very hard stone for a pillow. The experience is incredible, and Jacob's reaction became the title of a great worship song in the 80s, called, "Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place". He sees angels going up and down a stairway that extended from heaven to earth. An even earlier spiritual song was written based on this encounter called, "Jacob's Ladder", which some of our finishing well family might be old enough to recall. And God reaffirms how He will bless & use Jacob, now that He has his attention! QUESTION...when was a transitional time into adulthood that you were isolated enough that you had nowhere else to turn, but to simply look up and talk to God? For an added bonus, let me give you a link to a song I just heard at a funeral this past week. It's kind of become a favorite already. It's called, "Everybody Talks to God". The BOGO WIVES' CLUB (ch 29-31) Jacob discovers that although his father-in-law had a trick up his sleeve in marrying off the older daughter Leah to Jacob after seven years of work, when he thought he'd be receiving her younger sister that he loved named Rachel! But what's another seven years of free labor amongst family & friends? It's 7 years of manipulated "career-altering" employment, that's what it is! But because Jacob loved Rachel so much, he didn't seem to mind at all! Ain't that sweet! Leah begins having children, while Rachel is unable to. You would think Jacob would've reflected on his grandfather Abraham and learned not to get their handmaiden involved, but no, he participates in such a thing, which introduces dysfunction in their family on a 2.0 level! Now this might not have been as intense of a hostility as it was back in Genesis 21 between Sarah and Hagar, but trust me, Leah's boys in time would have nothing to do with their half-brothers, Rachel's sons (namely Joseph & partly Benjamin). Unfortunately, any short-sighted decision by us becomes a breeding ground for furthering unnecessary family resentment. And yet, God blesses Jacob profoundly! Now be assured, Jacob set himself up for success in a deceptive & opportunistic way, but nevertheless, God's hand is obviously upon his life and future! QUESTION... when has been a time you saw God go out of His way to simply place His favor upon your life? You realized that you didn't deserve it, but for some reason, it appeared that God thought you did? A GIFT, a LIMP, & a HUG IT OUT (ch 32-33) After the family gets firmly established, and there's enough distance between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban, the inevitable happens. Jacob's past catches up with him and he finds out that his estranged brother, Esau, is approaching him with a whole entourage! So he sends gifts and his family on ahead of him as he prepares for a solitary time that night with God. But this encounter that Jacob has with the Lord wasn't a repeat of "Angels on the Stairway to Heaven". This was the WWF "Raw Down and Dirty Pay per View"! It was a "headliner"! Welcome to the "Main Event", with the original "Jake, the Snake" going up against the a nameless representative of "the Heavenly Host"! Let's get ready to RUMBLE! And Jacob wrestles all night with an angel and leaves with a limp and a blessing. NOW he's ready to face his brother and the future God wants him to lead His people into! And with a tearful embrace, the two estranged families come together in peace! It's a beautiful thing! DINAH'S DISASTER (ch 34) But the blissful feel Jacob has once again won't be sustained very long. Things seem to interrupt his journey towards becoming God's people to one-day blessing all the surrounding nations! Looks like those blessings are going to be on hold for a little while longer! Jacob's daughter, Dinah is raped by a "not-so-well-intentioned" neighbor. And her brothers seek revenge through one of the most creative ways I've ever heard of! Who would've thought their appeal to "become part of God's family" & intermarry by having all the men circumcised would be an easy idea to sell? But the other family thought it would be "the pathway to owning Jacob's family and fortune". Not so. God's family can't be bought. Not then, not ever! So while the other men of the are still in recovery from the "Jewish male rite", Jacob's boys pillage the village. It really was an understatement when they told their Dad it was "the principle of the matter"! How could we let our sister be treated like that? QUESTION...Has there been a family embarrassment that left your in a very difficult position? Sometimes that type of woundedness is one of the most difficult to emotionally overcome. Have you let God heal you of that painful memory? BACK to BETHEL (ch 35) Please notice what comes next. It's the "purging of sinful behavior". God always calls His people to purify their hearts, minds, lives & even clothes before approaching Him for the next chapter or season in their journey. They had to get rid of all the idols that kept them away from God & head back to the altar. What a novel idea. What a holy moment! Not only is there a "consecrating" event, but along with that comes a name change from "Jacob to Israel". And it appears that God created a fear that was exuded from Jacob's family, which intimidates all of their potential enemies so as God's people, they could proceed with confidence. Then the heartbreak scene of the loss of both Isaac, Jacob's father, and Rachel, his loving wife. While Ruben has a major moral indiscretion, the chapter ends with us seeing the tender side of Jacob with his twin brother "together" at the funeral of their father. My goodness, there was a lot to process in this Bible hero's life! QUESTION.... was there ever a time that it seemed like God abruptly took you through a time of major loss of family? Perhaps that hasn't happened. But for those of us in the Finishing Well Fellowship, we more than likely have had a season where we felt like that "when it rains it pours." How did God bring you through that? ESAU'S UPDATE (ch 36) Nothing like a good trail for the ancestry.com people! The family tree for Esau is left for all to see. God is the God of meaningful details. And He made sure there's a paper trail for his genealogy. the TAKEAWAYS...for our "DAY by DAYS"... This week we've tried to do a "hero highlight" of Jacob. For many of you who are on a "reading thru the Bible" program, this might be coming just on the heels of your disciplined reading about him. We want to see this year how some people in the Bible finished well, even though they had struggles just like us and in many cases much more intense than ours. I'd like to offer some closing thoughts that's a condensed version of what happened in those corresponding chapters. But you feel free to add your thoughts to it as well, so we'll be able to RECALL many of these Bible heroes' lives with some phrases we can appropriately share with other people in godly conversations. Here they are… Ch 25-27...What GOES around, COMES around, especially if you FOOL around with God... Ch 28...When we're on the RUN, God gives us a REMINDER of His purpose for us...and sometimes it might be in a dream! So pay attention… night & day! Ch 29-31...READ the fine print, ASK the hard questions & get it in WRITING! Ch 32-33...HONOR those you hope to reconcile with... WRESTLE with God & don't expect to win but hold on for the blessing... LAY ASIDE your resentment & come together with kind words & a warm embrace Ch 34...DEFEND your family's integrity without embarrassing your Dad when possible... Ch 35...If you expect to be blessed, RETURN to a place of PURITY, GET RID of what's keeping you from God, build an ALTAR, and BRACE yourself for some hard goodbyes as an era ends... Ch 36...It's good to know your whole family's FAMILY TREE (but there might be less wood & more nuts than you think!) Praying you all are doing well and plugging into the churches you're attending in areas of worship, service, and fellowship! Warm weather should be coming soon for us! Join us next week this will continue in Genesis 37-50 with the life of Joseph. I promise you'll be moved to tears (as was Joseph) in the powerful way God reconciled him & his brothers. His tory will move your heart and change your life as you see the providential hand of God. Didn't mean to get ahead himself, but don't miss next week's devotional reading, although it's yet to be written! Anyway… As always, love you guys , george
|
