After Moses fled Egypt and saved the Midianite women from the jerks at the well he settled down and had children and lived a simple life as a farmer/shepherd. Meanwhile the rest of the Israelites were groaning in their captivity in Egypt and their cry rose up to God and he took pity on them (Exodus 2:23-25). God was then ready to call up Moses out of the wilderness so that he can carry out God’s plan.
Exodus 3:10-15
10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.”
It is very interesting that Moses had to ask God about his name. In the eyes of the Israelites God had abandoned them when they were enslaved in Egypt, and they had mostly wandered away from God since then and had taken on the gods of the Egyptians. It was the mindset of the Israelites that God had forsaken his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Moses was basically asking if God was wanting to start over in his relationship with the Israelites and form new covenants. God emphatically states that he is to be known to his people as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, to remind them that those promises still stand, and will stand for eternity. It is helpful to remember God in terms of what he has done for you or your loved ones, which is why God instructs the people to remember him as the God of Abraham so they will remember the stories that have been passed down of God’s faithfulness to their ancestors.
We need to be reminded of the fact that God does not change his mind like we do. God does not forget a promise. Just because things have changed in our lives and we are having doubts doesn’t mean that God is no longer the one who created the foundations of the earth. If we have sinned, or walked away from God for a time, or had a traumatic event in our lives it doesn’t change the fact that God IS, and that the blood of His Son Jesus can still cover our sins.
-Chris Mattison
(Originally posted for SeekGrowLove on Oct 3, 2018)
Reflection Questions
What do we learn about Moses in the first 3 chapters of Exodus?
How did the first 40 years of his life, spent in Egypt in the Pharaoh’s house, help prepare him for the job God selected him to do when he was 80? How did his years in Midian help prepare him? What talents, characteristics, knowledge, wisdom, connections, experiences, failures and accomplishments are in your past and present that could be useful for a future task God is preparing you for?
What examples of God’s faithfulness would you do well to remember and pass on to the next generation so they can remember, too?
What does it mean to you that God wants to be known by this same name forever? What does it tell us about God? What does it tell us about the past, present and future?
At the end of their lives the patriarchs bless their children. The ancients believed words matter. If you asked them, “What’s wrong with the world?” or “Why is the world broken?” they would answer, “The curse.” What’s wrong with the world is that God cursed it–using words. So, how should we expect the world to find healing and redemption? How does God plan to undo the consequences of our first parent’s rebellion? He blesses. First he calls Abraham and blesses him. Abraham calls Isaac and blesses him. Isaac calls Esau, but Jacob impersonates him to receive the blessing. Even so, now Jacob has come to die and he wants to pass on the blessing to his twelve sons who will become the twelve tribes of Israel. Somehow or other, God is going to use this dysfunctional Abrahamic family to initiate his master plan of redemption that will one day culminate with making everything wrong with the world right. Jacob is here playing his part in God’s agenda.
What’s interesting about how he blesses his children is that for several of them, the blessing sounds more like a curse. For example, to Levi and Simeon he says, “Cursed be their anger…I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” Through Jacob’s words, God is prophesying about the future. Indeed Levi was scattered throughout the tribes and Simeon was absorbed into Judah. What’s so fascinating about the blessing is that Israel passes over his first born, Reuben, as well as his second and third born, Simeon and Levi, and he jumps to boy number four–Judah. He compares Judah to a lion and then says, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49.10). This prophesy is rather staggering as we look forward to the rest of the bible. The great king David and his successors were from Judah. Ultimately, Jesus, himself, descended from Judah. So, how did Jacob know which of his children would hold the scepter? The odds of guessing it right are only one in twelve–about 8%. God was working with this man of faith to know what to say and whom to say it to. Jacob might be old, but he is still walking with God, right up until his last breath.
After Jacob dies, we learn about how Joseph forgives his brothers rather than taking vengeance into his own hands. Ultimately, Joseph himself arrives at death’s door. We read in the New Testament hall of faith the following about Joseph:
Hebrews 11.22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
Out of everything that Joseph went through, his heroic perseverance and faith in God, this is what he is remembered for. When he came near to death, that same Abrahamic promise that had burned in Israel’s heart, blazed in Joseph’s as well, even while he came to the end of his life. He expressed his faith by this last request:
Genesis 50.24-25 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”
Look at the faith of this man! He’s suffered so much in the course of his life and yet he never gave up on God. He had been elevated to the highest office in the land, next to Pharaoh, and he still retained his faith. In the end, God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not die. One day he would return to the land of his childhood. It would be centuries, but eventually, when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they carried Joseph’s sarcophagus with them through the desert and laid him to rest in the promised land. Whether you experience hardship or prosperity, be like Jacob and Joseph and keep faith your in God’s promises to bring the kingdom.
-Sean Finnegan
(originally posted for SeekGrowLove – back when it was Grow16BibleReading – on August 8, 2016 – our first full month of daily devotions!)
Reflection Questions
What can we learn from Jacob and his blessings for his offspring? What part of Jacob would you like to display in your life?
What can we learn from Joseph and his relationship with his family, with Egypt and with God? What was important to him? What part of Joseph would you like to display in your life?
Why is “the land” important? What have we seen happen throughout the book of Genesis in regards to the land?
What have you learned from the book of Genesis about God and how He works? What characteristics does He have? What is important to Him? What is God’s agenda? How has He interacted with His people? What has been a genesis/beginning in your relationship with God? What blessings are awaiting God’s children?
Next to the greatest story ever told, the story of Joseph is by far my favorite Bible story. There are so many valuable lessons one can learn from reading it. Some lessons that stand out to me are the sovereignty of God, the importance of trusting God even in the midst of tragedy and suffering, and the beauty and power of forgiveness.
I have often asked myself if I would have had Joseph’s attitude in the midst of a seemingly unending chain of absolutely horrific events. In spite of the terrible hand that he continued to be dealt, we don’t see him being consumed by anger, self-pity or a quest for vengeance. There’s something very powerful about Joseph’s unwavering faith in God that inspires me. He seems to possess a quiet assurance that everything is ultimately going to be okay.
In this 45th chapter of Genesis, we see Joseph revealing his true identity to his brothers. We know he had risen to a very prominent position of power as second in command of Egypt. The stage could have been set for him to get the “perfect revenge” against his brothers. We read in verse 5 right after Joseph reveals his identity to his brother: “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” I find it especially poignant that not only does Joseph not want to exact revenge in this situation, he actually chooses to comfort his brothers in this moment rather than “giving them what for.” We know from earlier scriptures that Joseph was clearly hurt by their previous actions, but he wants to spare them the hurt of being angry with themselves or beating themselves up because of their actions. He points them to an understanding of God’s sovereignty and that they were players in God’s plan.
How differently that 45th chapter of Genesis could have played out if Joseph had been bent on vengeance. Instead, we see the true beauty and power of forgiveness and a reminder that God is in control even in the midst of our darkest hours.
If we choose to be consumed with anger or self-pity, we miss the important lessons God is trying to teach us. We read in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Perhaps the answer in those dark times is to focus on loving God even more deeply and purposely than ever before.
-Kristy Cisneros
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1) When you encounter hardships and tragedies, does your attitude reflect one of unwavering faith in God? If not, how can you further nurture and strengthen that faith so that it is at the ready when life’s storms come your way?
2) What action can help us love God more deeply and purposely than ever before?
3) What other lessons can you learn from the story of Joseph?
(originally posted for SeekGrowLove on February 6, 2020)
In the beginning of Genesis 39, Joseph has just been sold to a new master named Potiphar. During the course of the chapter, Joseph is falsely accused and thrown into prison. The chapter ends as Joseph goes from being a slave to being a prisoner. Sounds pretty bad, right? Strangely enough, the chapter starts out by saying of Joseph the slave, “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” The chapter ends by saying of Joseph the prisoner, “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.” So God was with Joseph and gave him success and prosperity even as a slave and a prisoner. Sounds very strange to me. It would seem to me that success would be not being a slave and not being a prisoner. But Joseph understood some things that many of us never understand.
We can learn a lot of good things from Joseph. Whatever happened in his life, he kept on trying to live for God. He continued to have a good attitude and he continued to work hard. He didn’t pout, become discouraged, depressed or cry out, “Why me?”
How about you? When you go through tough times, do you continue to seek God and discover His will? Do you try to keep a positive attitude? Would you keep working hard if you were in Joseph’s shoes? We will soon see how God’s plan unfolded in Joseph’s life. Feel free to read ahead in the Bible on this story of Joseph. It is way more interesting than a TV show.
-Jason Turner
(Originally posted for SeekGrowLove on October 23, 2018)
Reflection Questions
How about you? When you go through tough times, do you continue to seek God and discover His will? Do you try to keep a positive attitude? Would you keep working hard if you were in Joseph’s shoes?
What do you think about the phrase, “God was with Joseph”? What might that look like to others? What might that feel like to Joseph? What does it cause Joseph to do?
Do you feel like you can say the same thing about “God was with (your name)” during your hardest trial thus far? Can you say it today? What might that look like to others? How does it make you feel? What does it make you do?
“What’s in a Name?” This famous quote from Romeo and Juliet implies that a name is simply and solely a name, that the true value lies in the person who bears the name – and, in the case of Shakespeare’s tragic play, that the person should be loved for who they are rather than hated merely for their family line. While I agree that the person who bears the name is more important than the name itself, I would also argue that names are very powerful and personal, as one thing that a person deeply owns forever. Referring to someone by name can have a profound effect on them. When we go to a restaurant, my husband makes a point to always speak to our servers by name as a way to connect with and respect them as a person rather than simply a service provider.
What does your name mean? Mine (Rachel) means “ewe,” which seems appropriate since the biblical Rachel was a shepherdess. Rachel was the second – but favorite – wife of Jacob, who was known to be a trickster. While there is some discrepancy about the true meaning of his name, Jacob is commonly accepted to mean “supplanter,” and when you read his life story, you will see him live up to his name many times over. In today’s reading, we observed Jacob and Rachel duping her father (who had also deceived them! It must be a family trait on both sides!). Jacob gathered his family for the journey back to his homeland to reconcile with his brother Esau, from whom Jacob had swindled the birthright blessing many years before. Then Jacob found himself alone during the night, thrust into a wrestling match with God (or man or angel, as some translations indicate). Jacob persevered through a fierce fight, but before he would let his mysterious competitor raise the white flag, Jacob demanded to be blessed.
The Wrestler’s response: “What is your name?”
Full stop. Don’t you think this being knew Jacob’s name? Of course. But remember, Jacob had assumed a false identity when he masqueraded as Esau to hoodwink his father into giving him Esau’s birthright, and Jacob had continued in his shifty ways. Maybe Jacob needed to be reminded of who he was so he wouldn’t continue to swim aimlessly in the pool of his own deception. Perhaps the Wrestler wanted Jacob to ponder his delusive choices (which, frankly, had caused a concatenation of unfortunate events) and be a willing participant in God’s bigger, better plan despite his sketchy past – a fresh start as a new man changed by God’s grace.
Jacob answered honestly with his given name and then was granted a new name with a new meaning: “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won” (Gen 32:28). The Wrestler chose to keep his own name a secret, but he did leave Jacob/Israel with the requested blessing – and a bum hip, probably so he would be sure to never forget the experience.
The meaning of the name “Israel” is disputed; some possibilities are, “he wrestles with God,” “a man seeing God,” “God perseveres.” Whatever the meaning, Israel indicates a closeness with God and a promise for a new nation. In recent chapters, we also read about Abram and Sarai receiving name changes to Abraham and Sarah to symbolize their new relationship and covenant with God.
God is in the business of changing lives AND names! Did you know that we, too, will be given new names in the Kingdom? Passages in Isaiah (62:2, 65:15) and Revelation (2:17, 3:12) indicate that our names will be changed when we receive our inheritance of eternal life! How awesome will it be to bear names especially chosen for us by our Creator as we live with Him forever!
-Rachel Cain
Reflections:
When you committed to join God’s mission, your name was written in the Lamb’s book of life. Enjoy this song about God changing us and writing our names on the Kingdom roster! (or click here if you want to see some of our own youth perform the same song in ASL at Ohio’s camp!)
Think of who you used to be, and how God has changed you – and continues to change you – into who He wants you to be. What areas of your life do you need to give over to him to allow that to happen? How can you use your story to encourage others?
Today, I’d like to zero in on just one verse: Genesis 30:22, “Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.”
Let’s break this down.
Then God – When I read these two words together, I think that other events had to take place first, before God took action on Rachel’s behalf. The ten sons born to Leah and the two maidservants had to be before Joseph and later Benjamin were born to Rachel. There was a purpose to the waiting. If Joseph had been born before his brothers, he would have had more clout in the family and probably wouldn’t have been sold off as a slave by his brothers and ended up working in the house of Pharaoh.
Remembered Rachel – According to my Bible notes, “remember” doesn’t imply that God forgot. It implies that God expresses concern and He acts with loving care; He shows favor.
He listened to her – Apparently, Rachel never stopped asking God for a son. She believed that it was possible for God to grant her this request, even though many years had gone by.
So what does this mean to us?
God’s timing is perfect. More than likely something needs to take place before our heart’s desire becomes a reality. Maybe it’s a sequence of events or maybe it’s a change in attitude. Whatever it is, we have to trust that God knows what He’s doing.
God hasn’t forgotten about you. “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
Have Big Faith and keep talking to God. Keep seeking after Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
Many Blessings,
-Bethany Ligon
(Originally posted for SeekGrowLove August 1, 2016)
Reflection Questions
Looking back on your life can you think of a time when you discovered purpose in the waiting?
I have never seen a beautiful piece of wall art with the words “Family Isn’t Everything”. I’ve never seen it on a Mother’s Day mug or bookmark, t-shirt, keyring or tombstone. Rather, we are all very familiar with the motto “Family IS Everything”. Whether it’s from the Walmart aisles, Etsy and Pinterest sites or President Biden’s farewell address, we’ve seen it, we’ve heard it, we’ve lived it. It’s a societal norm or expectation. Those who can’t say Family Is Everything might have really really bad families or really screwed up priorities. OR – they just might be listening to and obeying God and working hard at keeping God and God alone first place in their life. I have a feeling we wouldn’t find Abraham wearing the “Family is Everything” t-shirt. And God blessed him for it.
No doubt Abraham loved and cherished the family that God gave to him. Can you imagine waiting 100 years for the child you could keep? Today’s reading also describes his heartache over losing/sending away his firstborn son Ishmael. Being a parent is hard. Being a godly parent is also not easy. But I am reminded, perhaps as Abraham was, of the purpose God had in giving Abraham a child which was recorded in yesterday’s reading. In Genesis 18:19 God said, “For I have chosenhim, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” In teaching Isaac to keep the way of the Lord, Abraham needed to live it out himself – not by doing what the world says is right (“family first”), but listening to and following through with what God says, even when we don’t understand why.
And Abraham did. When God said “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” – Abraham did – “and he rose early in the morning” and got moving. (Genesis 22:2,3 ESV). I admire not only his actions but his speed and timing in listening and obeying. He got going and followed through. He also had a three day journey in which he could have changed his mind, turned around and decided family is everything. But he didn’t. He continued onward to the exact place that God told him to go. At the start he knew he was heading toward the region of Moriah and God would tell him which mountain to go to. I read online that some say the mountain God sent Abraham to was Golgatha, in case you are looking for more foreshadowing and similarities between what God was asking Abraham to do and what He Himself (the loving, righteous and just God) would do for us with His only son whom He loved. Thankfully God did not let His perfect love for His perfect Son keep Him from offering Jesus up to save the guilty condemned, you and I. God’s t-shirt would not say “Family is Everything” but maybe more along the lines of, “I gave everything for my adopted family”.
But, one more point about this mountain that God sent Abraham to…for it was there that God had a great surprise hiding – a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And it was there that God provided for Abraham and Isaac in a very big way. If you haven’t read Genesis 22 yet today, please do. I am guessing God didn’t place a ram stuck on every mountain nearby just in case Abraham decided to end up at a different mountain than the one God told him to go to. Similarly, if we are looking for God to provide – let’s show up on the mountain He tells us to go to.
-Marcia Railton
Reflection Questions
What does it look like when we live by “Family is Everything” and put family before God? What does it look like when we love the family God gave us dearly and set an example for them of being righteous before God and putting God first?
Is there anything you have tried to withhold from God? What does it mean to you that God did not withhold His Son?
Have you ever been upset God didn’t provide as you wanted Him to – and then realized you were in the wrong place to receive what He had all prepared and ready to give? Does it count to do most of what God says if you aren’t prepared to do all of what God says?
What do you think of Abraham? How do you think he earned the title “Friend of God”? Would you like to be known as a friend of God – could you honestly wear the “Friend of God” t-shirt? What specifically can you do today, this week, month and year to grow more and more like a true friend of God?
Husbands – don’t always listen to your wife – she doesn’t always know. Younger sisters – don’t always listen to your big sister – she doesn’t always know. What trouble we can get into when we follow the advice and direction of those who are trying to solve matters on their own without patiently relying on God’s perfect way and timing. Our reading today of Genesis 16-19 both opens and closes with women deciding how to take matters into their own hands (or into their maidservant’s hands) when they felt there were no other options available to get what they wanted – a child to carry on the family line and receive the family inheritance. Perhaps Sarai figured God needed her help to fulfill the promise God made that Abram would have a son. Maybe she thought she was wiser and knew the best way to get to the desired end result on her timetable. I don’t even want to guess about Lot’s daughters.
At the same time, I realize I am sometimes quick to judge and point fingers, when I sometimes don’t know the whole story and I am not chosen by God to be the judge and jury. For example, Lot’s willingness to offer up his virgin daughters to the lewd and dangerous mob at the door has always bothered me greatly. And maybe it should. And yet…in his second letter Peter writes that God, “rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)” (2 Peter 2:7.8). Peter is giving Lot a bit (or a lot) more credit than I would have. And then I just read a study note in my ESV Archaeology Study Bible that “Lot may have been attempting to bring down the law on the heads of the culprits” (p39) as in many cultures of that day the punishment was death for a man caught lying with a betrothed virgin. I certainly hadn’t considered that possibility before.
Perhaps sometimes I am not as smart as I thought I was. Perhaps sometimes I work a little too hard to find a bad guy in the story? And yet, I DO need to try to be discerning. I do need to read God’s word to know more and more about who God is and who He wants me to be. So, what are some take aways that can help me know God and who He wants me to be?
Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed as an example of what happens to the ungodly. (Peter says that, too, in 2 Peter 2). Don’t be Ungodly. There is a right way and a wrong way to live and there are consequences for both which God will bring about in His time and His way.
Humble Hospitality is Huge. Old man Abram is running to get dinner prepared with the finest ingredients for the visitors and then stands while they eat (your guests might think that part is weird – you can sit). Lot won’t take no for an answer and brings the visitors to his home to spend the night and is prepared to protect them with all he’s got. How can you practice some humble hospitality?
Our God is a God who sees. Hagar is right. God not only sees her and hears her but He speaks to her, He encourages her and He shows mercy and care for her AND for her unborn child. I do find it interesting it is not recorded that He tells Sarai what she did wrong (like I did) but there are several verses here devoted to making sure we know that God saw, heard, encouraged, directed and cared for Hagar and her child. Maybe the lesson for myself is don’t be so busy finding the wrong that you don’t do the right. Who does God want me to see so I can encourage, care for and point them in the right direction?
God’s promise to Abram which we talked about yesterday continues to grow – now it is added that from Abram will come nations and kings, and even better, God will be their God and also Sarah (notice the little name change) will be blessed and from her will come her very own son and nations and kings. There is also that part about circumcision and Abraham walking faithfully, and being blameless and chosen to command his children and household to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice. These are tied to God’s promises to His people. What does God want you to do to show that you are His?
Perhaps MOST importantly in these chapters and in our lives is the realization and understanding that there is NOTHING too hard for the Lord! In this case they are talking about 90 year old Sarah having a child with 100 year old Abraham. It seems impossible, because normally it is, but our God is not a human, He is not normal. He specializes in the impossible! Your needs are not too big for Him. Your case is also not too insignificant for Him. He is the God who sees and the God who has never and will never run into a project too hard for Him.
– Marcia Railton
Reflection Questions
When have you felt seen by God? When did He show that nothing is too hard for Him? What problems are created when we don’t believe God sees or God can?
What does God want you to do to show that you are His? What does He promise to do for you?
Who does God want me to see so I can encourage, care for and point them in the right direction?
The first 9 verses of Genesis 12 hold SO much promise! In fact, we’ve all heard of a lie that starts out small but just grows and grows – that’s bad. But, what about a TRUE promise from the Lord Almighty that starts out in verse one and just grows and grows and becomes one of the largest and very best promises in the world? Sometimes this is referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant.
In Genesis 12:1 the Lord calls Abram (whose name will be changed to Abraham in chapter 17) to leave his country and father’s house and family to go to a land that God himself will show to Abram. God is telling Abram to leave the known and comfortable and so much of what has been important to him thus far. But God says when Abram does this, God Himself will show Abram the land that God has already picked out and reserved for Abram. In the next two verses we see 7 promises given to Abram:
I will make of you a great nation
I will bless you
And make your name great
So you will be a blessing
I will bless those who bless you
And him who dishonors you I will curse
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:2-3 ESV)
That’s a lot of promising promises! He is going to bless Abram in some big ways so that Abram can be a blessing to others, even to all the families of the earth! And God’s not done – He’s got even more good news for Abram. But first, Abram has to get moving. He has to believe the promise enough to start acting on it.
And he does. 75 year old Abram leaves his comfortable couch in Haran and starts out, not knowing where he is going or what the land will look like or when he will get there or what he will have to pass through to get there, but believing that when the Almighty gives His Word He is good for it and good will come of it. So, he moves out in search of the land God will show to him. I love that part! Sometimes decision making is hard and we find ourselves overthinking or second guessing so we don’t move at all. But God told Abram you get moving and I will show you the land! Maybe that means you go through some lands that aren’t the right fit and isn’t what God is saving up for you, maybe you try some ministries that give you more experience and empathy but aren’t where God is going to plant you. It is okay. It is part of the journey. You keep moving. You keep trusting your faithful God to show you when THIS is the land He chose for you.
Can you imagine all the feelings old, childless Abram who got moving and has just travelled about 550 miles from Haran and was now passing through the land of Canaan would experience in verse 7? “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ’To your OFFSPRING I will give THIS land.’” The promise just exploded and got so much larger! Not only was he now SEEING the land God had said He would show him, but now he also heard that he would somehow, someway yet have offspring?!? Abram’s response – he built an altar to worship the Lord, which also acts as a witness to others.
Sometimes we question God’s timing of the fulfillment of His promises. Is it now, God? When God showed Abram that this was WHERE, the question became WHEN. It wasn’t time for him to settle there, yet. But it was then also promised to his offspring, yet another great part of the promise.
It is good news for us that God does not take back his promise from Abram when Abram is less than perfect (telling less than the truth to try to protect himself in Egypt). In fact, it is after this that the promise has yet another amazing addition with some incredible implications for you and I. Genesis 13:14-16 (ESV) says: “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.’” Did you catch the NEW piece of the promise? It’s a little 7 letter word that never ends! This land would be given to Abram and his (as of yet non-existent) offspring that would become as numerous as the dust of the earth FOREVER! Abram’s response – he builds an altar to worship and witness and he settles into the land that God had promised and God had shown!
As beautiful as those chapters are – don’t miss chapter 15. Abram is having some doubts. How could all this be? Sure, it sounds great, but he still doesn’t have any offspring! How long God until your promise is fulfilled? The word of the Lord comes to Abram and it is the first recorded time the beautiful, comforting, often repeated phrase, “FEAR NOT!” appears in the Bible. Why do we fear not? Because God tells us HE is our shield and our very great reward! HE has given a very great promise and He is working out the details. He has chosen the land and He will show it to those who believe enough to get moving and in His perfect timing we will settle there and in His perfect timing we will see and cherish our offspring as numerous as the stars. Verse 16 is quoted 3 times in the New Testament: “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” He believed. It doesn’t say he understood. He didn’t have to engineer the plan. He had to believe, and move, and let God show him the land.
Dear Lord, thank you for your promises that are always true and that just keep getting bigger and bigger. Please show me the land You have chosen for me to settle in – both now and when Jesus returns to set up Your Kingdom on this land. Help me get moving in the direction You have laid out. Thank you for the offspring you have blessed me with, help me also see and care for the spiritual offspring you have given. Help me worship You and be a witness to all You have already done and all You have yet to do. Thank you for being my shield and very great reward! Help me remember this so I do not fear but always believe in you and Your great Son. Thank you for your Word, and for keeping it FOREVER!
-Marcia Railton
Reflection Questions
1.When was the last time you made a covenant, a promise, or gave your word? Can your word be trusted? Can God’s word be trusted? How do you know? (Notice that God gave an example in Gen 15 of how trustworthy His word would be when he foretold the 400 years in Egypt and the exodus. Who do you think God included this information for?)
2. In what ways has God blessed you so that you can bless others?
3. What might have happened if Abram would have declined God’s offer and promise to show him a new land? Maybe he was just too comfortable in Ur, and then Haran? Maybe he had a project he wanted to finish? What if he loved his family too much to leave? What might be holding us back from setting out to find the land (or purpose or ministry or Kingdom) God has reserved for us? What might we miss out on if we stay where we are known and comfortable?
4. What similarities and differences can you find between God calling Abram which begins the Abrahamic Covenant and 2,000 years later Jesus calling the disciples at the start of the New Covenant? How are the two covenants connected? Now, 2,000 years after Jesus’ call, what do you feel you are being called to do? What part(s) of the Abrahamic and New Covenants are still being worked out by a faithful God? What land has God already shown you and what land are you waiting for your shield and very great reward to show you?
Students may feel time stands still, waiting the release of a school day, but where reality is truly suspended is at a school dance. I am no scientist, but I believe Albert Einstein must have been chaperoning teenagers when he discovered the theory of relativity. It isn’t just one thing that makes it feel like you are locked into an eternal session on “Cotton-Eye Joe” on a Friday afternoon, but the combination of the shouting, the music, the shouting, the running, the shouting, the smells, and the shouting, create a enormous sense of anticipation and longing for escape.
Today in our chronological study, we end up in a completely different book. Job is thought to historically settle in and around the time of Abraham, but there is room for debate. Personally, I like the fade to black, and the entry into another storyline. Multiple narratives, whether in our texts or as we edify one another today, demonstrate that God is working to bring all things to one conclusion or resolution, which indeed is our great joy as we consider his uniting Kingdom.
Conversely, the vast majority of Job’s story is within the walls of great suffering, where time seemingly stands still; the playlist is that of devastating loss. Job’s health, his wealth, and his family are stripped from him. He slowly and surely unpacks the persistence of physical and emotional pain, reminding us of the sovereignty of God: it is His prerogative to give and to take away.
Nonetheless, Job continues to seek joy and restoration with God, though time stands still in agonizing sorrow. Leaning, reclining, and collapsing on God are the only available avenues to move forward through the most intense trials and longest of sufferings. David says in Psalm 16:11: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” We long for security, satisfaction, and meaning, but the answer to these needs do not come from momentary allowances. We can only attain this through God, who freely gives this and more through Jesus Christ.
Through His life, death, and resurrection, we have abounding grace. Through trials of every kind we can receive joy and develop perseverance because we know that our narrative is only one of many, tied to a single storyline about our Savior. Though at times it feels like we will never move again, seeking God, we will be inspired to join in the conga-line with those before us who have died longing and waiting for their joy made complete.
Revelation 21:4 reminds us that eventually the noise and the music will stop, and we can finally go home – “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Blessed be the name of the Lord! What great joy there is in eternity, to sustain us through the most taxing times where we feel the ticking of every second. We will be in the presence of God. We will be made perfect and whole. We will be reunited. Oh come, thou long expected Jesus.
-Aaron Winner
Reflection Questions
What has God given to you? What has He taken away? Why and how can you praise Him for both? What “negative” things has He also taken away for you?
Who or what else also shares responsibility for the suffering Job endures?
Who do you know who has suffered much and continues to praise the name of the Lord?
How can joy and perseverance grow in the face of trials, tears and suffering?
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