Day 24 - Joshua 3:1-4:24 - Crossing the Jordan

Consecrated

The Israelites were on the cusp of entering the Promise Land. After 40 years of wandering in the desert which followed 400 years of slavery, they were finally about to receive the promise that God had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And what does Joshua tell the people of Israel to do before God performs the miraculous wonders among them? Joshua tells the people to consecrate themselves. Consecration is the act of setting apart or making holy. In Leviticus 20:26, God says to the Israelites, “You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” God consecrated the nation of Israel for Himself. He set them apart. He also required them separate themselves from the other people around them. Jesus spoke a similar word to the disciples in John 15:19 when He said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Once again, we see the picture of Jesus setting them apart from the rest of the world. Paul makes a similar charge to Christians in Romans 12:2 when he says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Peter, too, makes a similar charge in 1 Peter 1:13-15 when he says, “¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” God desires to do tremendous wonders among us, but we too must first consecrate ourselves. We need to be holy as He is holy. Any part of ourselves that we keep attached to the world is not being set apart for him. When we consecrate ourselves, setting ourselves apart, we become vessels that God can work through. Paul presents this thought in Timothy 2:20, 21 when he says, “²⁰ Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Raised Up

In Joshua 3:7 we read, “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.’” If we fast-forward to after the Israelites cross the Jordan river, we read in Joshua 4:14, “On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.” Unsurprisingly, we see yet another example of God making a promise and then fulfilling the promise. It’s unsurprising because God always fulfills His promises. What I found interesting here though is what actually happened. I want to use Tim Tebow to make my point here. Recently there has been a lot of hype around Tebow’s life and faith in Christ. In fact, it has been so hyped that while rifling through articles about Super Bowl XLVI on Sports Illustrated’s website, I came across this article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/more/wires/02/01/2080.ap.us.tebow.prosperity.preacher.1st.ld.writethru.0310/index.html. That’s right, a sports website had an article about Tebow canceling a speaking engagement at a controversial pastor’s church. What does that have to do with sports? Nothing. But Tim Tebow has become a compelling figure in our nation. My brother-in-law has an eager desire to learn about Christianity because he is in awe with what Tebow is doing. Yet, amidst the discussions, I’ve heard more than one Christian bothered by the publicity that Tebow has gotten, saying things like, “He’s just a man.” Is it that simple though? In this portion of Joshua, I believe that we clearly see that God allows certain people to be raised up. In Joshua’s case, the people stood in awe of him. And God was not only okay with it, He caused it to happen. Why was God okay with someone else being exalted? Because He was still getting the glory. I think the same case could be made for Tebow. Why is everyone making a big deal out of Tim Tebow and not fellow Christian quarterback Aaron Rodgers? Maybe it’s as simple as this: because God has raised him up. I am not saying that this is definitely the answer, but I’m just not sure why more people don’t think of it as a reasonable possibility. I think that we can struggle with what true humility is sometimes. We view it as pride when someone is exalted. But it’s only pride if someone exalts himself or tries to take the glory for himself. Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge Tim Tebow.

Step of Faith

I think we can learn a lot from Joshua 3:15, 16 which reads, “¹⁵ and soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.” God had told the people the plan. God told Joshua that the priests needed to step into the Jordan in Joshua 3:8. Joshua relayed the plan to the people in Joshua 3:13. It is here in Joshua 3:15, 16 that we see the plan in action. Think about it though. Joshua goes out of the way to tell us that the Jordan was overflowing. The waters were raging. Stepping into a raging river would have taken some guts. It would have taken some faith. And yet the priests didn’t hesitate. They stepped in. God did not stop the river until they stepped in. They had to take that step of faith. In the same way, there are many times in our lives when God is waiting for us to take a specific step of faith before He moves. We need to be listening to what He tells us and obey when we hear it. Polly and I don’t have a lot of money. Some weeks we are barely squeaking by. We live on a budget. Yet the one thing we don’t budget is giving. We believe that if God tells us to give, then He is going to provide. This has worked to us to this point in our lives. We see no reason why it should stop. We need to be obedient to take the steps of faith that God commands us to.

Dry Ground

What a miracle! Not only did the Israelites cross through a river bed that had been plugged up, but the ground they were walking on was dry (Joshua 3:17). Think about how amazing this truly is. If you had the capability of stopping a river, I will guarantee you that the river bed will still be wet for quite some time. God is awesome!

Memorial

Joshua 4 tells us about Joshua’s command to the twelve tribes to each get a stone from the midst of the Jordan River while it was still blocked from flowing. Joshua told them to set them up as a memorial to stand for all generations to remember the miracle that God had performed for them. The rocks served as evidence that God had actually done what they claimed. They were likely big rocks that would have had to have come from the river. People didn’t have scuba gear back then. River stones would have been pretty compelling evidence. But the rocks didn’t only serve as proof to others (including future generations) that God had performed a miracle. The rocks also served as a reminder to those who passed through the Jordan on dry ground. I believe that we can learn a valuable lesson here. God performs miracles in all of our lives. All Christians have examples of times where God answered a prayer or came through with a miracle. I believe that it’s important for us to memorialize those things. We can do this in many ways. I think journaling might be the most beneficial way. But regardless how we do it, I think we need to do it. I think it’s important for us to remember what God has done. When we memorialize those moments in life, they serve as a witness to others and also as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to us. I know that when I hit a rough patch in life and want to give up, I think back to all the times that God has come through before. When we remember God’s times of faithfulness, it reminds us how capable He is to meet all of our needs.

Day 23 - Joshua 1:1-18 - Joshua Succeeds Moses

Be Strong and Courageous

I have always been intrigued by the frequency of the phrase "be strong and courageous." We see God say this to Joshua in verses 6, 7 and 9. We see the phrase again in verse 18 but this time it's the people talking to Joshua. If we dig a little deeper and search back into Deuteronomy, we find this same phrase used 3 times in chapter 31 when Joshua was named as Moses' successor and commissioned. In Deut. 23:6, Moses says it to all the people. In Deut. 23:7, Moses says it to Joshua in front of the people (Interestingly, Moses also tells Joshua that God will never leave him or forsake him similar to what God tells Joshua in Joshua 1:5). Finally, God used this phrase when speaking to Joshua during his commissioning in Deut. 31:23. Tally that up and that means the phrase "be strong and courageous" was used 7 times with regard to Joshua: once by Moses to the people, once by Moses to Joshua, four times by God to Joshua and once by the people to Joshua. Talk about being surrounded by encouragement! God encourages our leadership, but it's also important for our leadership to be encouraged by his/her leadership as well as the people being led. Here is one practical example: God has called my pastor, Pastor Patrick to lead Calvary AG. Pastor needs to be encouraged by God. But Pastor also needs to be encouraged by the church board and Southern New England Ministry Network leaders as well as by all of us in the congregation. This model can be used in any ministry. We need to accept God's encouragement for our ministry, encourage those under our ministry, and encourage those overseeing our ministry. We always have a role in the process.

Day 17 - Exodus 3:1-4:17 - The Burning Bush

Holy Reverence

As we begin reading in Exodus 3, Moses is tending his father-in-law’s flock, minding his own business when he comes upon a bush that is on fire, but is not burning up. Moses doesn’t know what is going on but he is intrigued by this strange sight. When Moses went to investigate this strange phenomenon, God called out to him from within the bush. Moses responds by saying, “Here I am.” In Exodus 3:5 we read, “’Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” After God identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses hid his face as he was afraid to look at God. I love these opening verses of Exodus 3. What jumps out to me is not the fact that there was a bush on fire that wasn’t being burned up. I mean, that’s cool, but it’s not the coolest part of the story. What jumps out to me is the holy reverence that Moses had for God. God told him that he was standing on holy ground so that’s not the part that shows me Moses’ reverence for God. What shows me Moses’ reverence for God is when he hid his face being afraid to look at God. We could look at that and think Moses was crazy. If you had a chance to look at God, wouldn’t you take advantage of it? Well, you might feel that way. But Moses realized something important: God is holy. Who are we that we could look upon such a holy God and live? Really, I think that we need to have a viewpoint closer to Moses’ viewpoint. I believe that many people treat God as a mere man or as an equal. We are not God’s equal. We are not even close. We need to approach the things of the Lord with holy reverence and not ignorant nonchalance. We must be careful not to take God lightly.

God Cares

In Exodus 3:7-10, God tells Moses that He has heard the crying of the Israelites in their affliction as slaves in Egypt. God tells Moses that He is going to use him to bring freedom to His people. God cared for the Israelites through all their agony. In the same way, God cares for us. I’m sure the Israelites wondered if God was ever going to hear their cries and spear them from the brutality they faced. Sometimes we, too, might wonder if God is ever going to hear us when we have been crying out about a particular situation for a long time. When we face those moments, we should reread these verses and be encouraged that God cares!

It’s not about us

Exodus 3:11 says, “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’” Exodus 3:12 begins by saying, “And God said, ‘I will be with you…” I love this short exchange. Moses questions God as to his qualifications for bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. Let’s be honest here. If someone came to us with that question, we would probably try to encourage them by pointing out all their experiences and characteristics that qualify them for the task, right? This is not at all how God responds, however. God basically says, “You make a good point. You’re right. You’re not qualified. But don’t worry, I’ll be with you, and I am qualified.” You see, it’s not about us at all. It’s about God’s ability to work within us. God seeks willing vessels. There’s a saying that I’ve heard which says, “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.” The truth is that God didn’t call Moses because He was qualified. God called Moses because that’s who He chose to use. God equipped him. The same is true for us. We can’t make our decision of whether or not we’ll obey God based on our qualifications; we need only to trust in His!

Enough Said

In Exodus 3:13, Moses asks God what name he should give the Israelites to show that God has truly sent him. I love God’s response in the next verse: “I AM WHO I AM.” I always read this as, “I AM…enough said.” God IS…and that’s all there is to it. The fact that God is who He is stands up on its own. We can think of all sorts of great reasons to worship God and to describe Him, but we really need to go no further than worshipping Him for who He is and describing Him as such.

Not Going to Be Easy

God gave Moses the game plan over the span of Exodus 3:16-22. God told Moses that he is to go to the elders of Israel and let them know that God is about to fulfill the promise He had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God also tells Moses that he and the elders are to go to Pharaoh to request a three-day leave to worship God. God then tells Moses that He already knows Pharaoh will not listen so He will compel Pharaoh to let them go after a series of wonders. God even told Moses that the Israelites would have His favor in plundering the Egyptians. What interests me about God revealing the plan to Moses is that God didn’t lead Moses to believe that this was going to be a quick, easy process. God showed Moses that it would be tough. Basically He said, “Hey Moses, I want you to take on this task. Just so you know, getting Pharaoh to let you all go is going to be like pulling teeth for you. This is a very difficult journey ahead; it will not be easy.” Sounds pretty compelling, right? But, even though God let Moses know it was going to be tough, He had already reminded him that He would be with him. God had already let Moses know that he was going to find success in this process. In fact, God’s revelation about His favor for the Israelites to plunder the Egyptians must have been a real confidence builder. To finish the thought above, it’s like God said, “This is going to tough, but it’s definitely going to happen. It won’t be easy, but there will be victory. In fact, not only will you all leave, but you will gently plunder the Egyptians on the way out.” Even though God let Moses know how tough it would be, He didn’t leave him hanging. This may very well be the same for us at times in life as well. God may ask us to do something that is going to be incredibly difficult. Like Moses, we might even feel like we’re in way over our heads. But, in those times, we need to remember that if God has told us to do it, He will be with it and no matter how tough it may be, we will be successful in the end. We need to be sure to place our confidence in God.

Lose the Big BUT

We can read Moses’ response to God immediately after God told him the plan. Exodus 4:1 says, “Then Moses answered, ‘But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’’” In response, God gave Moses three signs to use: his staff turning into a snake, his hand becoming leprous and water turning into blood. Armed with these signs, Moses responded to God with…another BUT. We read this response from Moses in Exodus 4:10, “But Moses said to the LORD, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’” God replied by reminding Moses that He created his mouth and could teach him to speak. Armed with the commitment from God to speak for him, Moses responded to God with this, “But he said, ‘Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.’” This time, we read that God became angry with Moses. He told Moses that He would allow Aaron to be the person to do the speaking but that He would still speak directly with Moses. I feel like we can have similar responses to God sometimes. We like to inform God of reasons why we can’t do the thing He’s calling us to, as though He doesn’t know us better than we know ourselves. As we already established, if God calls us, then He will equip us. God will never tell us to do something that we cannot do. We should not seek to anger God by challenging Him. We need to lose the BUTs in our interactions with God and learn to simply say YES instead.

Day 16 - Exodus 1:1-2:25 - Birth of Moses

Multiplying

When Jacob came down to Egypt, his family was 70 persons (Exodus 1:5). Joseph and his brothers all passed away. Exodus 1:7 tells us that the people of Israel were fruitful and multiplied. This verse also tells us that they grew strong. They had become significant enough in size that it says, “…so that the land was filled with them.” To describe the situation as the land being filled with them would certainly indicate that they were many. When a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph, he felt that the Israelites had become too many and too strong (Exodus 1:9). Pharaoh’s solution to the “problem” was to treat them harshly (Exodus 1:10, 11). But, Exodus 1:12 says, “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.” And Exodus 1:20b says, “And the people multiplied and grew very strong.” We, yet again, see that though man has his plans, God’s will always wins out. God promised Abraham that He would bless him and make his people uncountable like the stars in the sky (Genesis 15). So, we should not be surprised to see the Israelites multiplying. Remember: God is always true! No man, not even the Pharaoh could alter God’s promise. In fact, the harder he tried to stop God’s promise, the more God’s promise proved true. Let us always remember this in our own lives. We may face persecution and/or hardship, but those things don’t dictate God’s will God can/will move in His sovereignty, no matter what mans’ plans might be.

Another Promise Fulfilled

The Israelite enslavement described in Exodus 1 is a fulfillment to what God told Abraham in Genesis 15:13. This is yet another reminder that God’s word is true.

Taking a Stand

In Exodus 1:15, we read that Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all sons born to the Israelites (in a further attempt to slow down the Israelites’ growth in number and power). Exodus 1:17 says, “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” Even though the king of Egypt told them to do commit such a sinful act, they knew it was wrong and refused to obey. The midwives took a stand for what was right (out of a healthy fear of God). And even though Pharaoh was displeased with them (Exodus 1:18), God was pleased with them and blessed them, giving them their own families (Exodus 1:20, 21). We have many opportunities when we have to choose whether or not we will take a stand for what is right. We need to ask ourselves, “Who do I want to please? Man or God?” I don’t know about you, but I would rather fear God than fear men and please God than please men.

Cast into the Nile

Since the midwives refused to do Pharaoh’s bidding, Pharaoh turns to the Egyptians. Exodus 1:22 tells us that Pharaoh commanded all his people to cast every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile. In order to spare her new baby boy’s life, a Levite woman hid him for three months before making a basket and placing him in the Nile (Exodus 2:1-3). Continuing along in the following verses, we see that this baby was discovered by the Pharaoh’s daughter, who was pleased to find him. God even worked it out that the boy’s own mother would wean him and raise him. This serves as a good reminder to me that we are simply stewards of the children God blesses us with…they are really his. Also, it’s interesting to me that he too went into the Nile, as all other baby boys did, but God spared this baby from it. Once again, we see that God’s purpose will always win out.

Can’t Hide Sin

Sometimes we think we’re so slick at concealing our sins. We think that we can sin and we can get away with it. Moses was no different…he thought the same thing. Exodus 2:11 tells us that he saw a Hebrew being mistreated, being beaten by an Egyptian. We read in Exodus 2:12 that Moses looked around to make sure nobody was looking before he struck down the Egyptian, killing him, and then buried him in the sand. In the next verse, we read that when he went out the next day and saw two Hebrews fighting with each other, he tried to stop him. In verse 14, the man asked Moses if he would kill him just like he had killed the Egyptian. How did the man know about Moses killing the Egyptian? Moses had been careful to look around first to ensure nobody was looking. The truth is, however, that no matter how secret we may think our sins are and no matter how well we think we can hide them, our sins will always find us out (Numbers 32:23). As a result of Moses action and people finding out about it, he had to flee from Pharaoh (who wanted to kill him). There are always consequences for our sins.

Sojourner

Exodus 2:22 tells us that Moses and his wife Zipporah have a son. Moses named him Gershom. Why did Moses name his son GershomPromise Land. We, too, are only sojourners in a foreign land. This world, with all it has to offer, is only temporary. This is not our real home; we’re just passing through. We will continue to be merely sojourners until we enter the eternal Promise Land: heaven.

God Remembers…God Knows

Exodus 2:23-25 says, “²³ During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. ²⁴ And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” I love this reminder to us. As I’ve said more than once already, God is always true to His word and faithful to His promises. The Israelites cried to God and He heard them. He not only heard them, but He remembered His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God saw them and He knew. The same is true in our lives. God hears us when we cry out to Him. And He remembers us. He sees us and knows. We can have complete confidence that God will always hear us and remember us, no matter how bleak things may seem.

Day 11 - Genesis 37:1-36 - Sold into Slavery

In the Land of Canaan

I love how this chapter begins by saying that Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. We read in Genesis 12:5-7 and 15:18-21 that God promised to give Abraham (at the time, Abram) the land of Canaan. So, in this passage, Jacob is already in the land that God has promised. But, as we read in Genesis 15:13, Abraham’s people are going to live in slavery in Egypt for 400 before they get to live in the land for good. We know from the last chapter of Genesis and the book of Exodus (and various other places in the Bible) that this did, in fact, happen. Isn’t this interesting? Jacob was already in the very place that God was eventually going to bring his people back to. This begs the question, “Why didn’t God just let them stay in the land?” We could look at this practically and say they weren’t large enough yet able to displace the Canaanites from the land. And this very well may be true. But I think the best answer is simpler, “Because staying in the land wasn’t God’s plan.” At first view, this may look like a “cop out” answer. But, I don’t think it is. God had a purpose to bring the Israelites through slavery before freeing them and allowing them to enter the Promise Land. We might get more into some of what that purpose might have been in a later discussion (though, to be fair, we might not), but that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. The point I am trying to make is this: I think that we have to be comfortable with “Because it’s not God’s will” being a satisfactory answer in our lives. Sometimes we might look at a situation and think that we have a better answer or a less arduous path.  The truth is, however, that God always knows what is best and we need to trust His will no matter what. It’s never as important for us to know why God does something as it is for us to obey.

Favorite and Least Favorite

Genesis 37:2-4 gives us a short introduction to Joseph. Joseph was 17 years old at the time of the account of this chapter. We learn two very important, interconnected facts. Joseph was his father’s favorite but the least favorite of his brothers. This is no coincidence. As Genesis 37:4 indicates, it was because Joseph was favored by his father (he was loved more than his brothers) that his brothers hated him. They did not get along. I’m sure this was not helped by the fact that Joseph told on his brothers when they did something they weren’t supposed to.

He Had a Dream, Actually Two

We read about two different dreams that Joseph has regarding his brothers. Although the dreams are different, they have the same meaning. If they have the same meaning, then why would there need to be two dreams? Pharaoh had two dreams with the same meaning in Genesis 41. While giving Pharaoh the interpretation of his dreams, Joseph said, “And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.” (Genesis 41:32). Though it does not give a reason for Joseph’s two dreams in Genesis 37, perhaps the reason is the same. That is to say that perhaps Joseph had two dreams with the same meaning because it was a thing fixed by God and would come about shortly. Regardless, the two dreams can be summarized as follows:

1. In the first dream (Genesis 37:7), Joseph and his brothers were binding sheaves in the field when Joseph’s sheaf arose and stood upright. Joseph’s brothers’ sheaves gathered around Joseph’s sheaf and bowed down to it.
2. In the second dream (Genesis 37:9), the sun, moon and eleven (same number as the number of Joseph’s brothers) bowed down to Joseph.

As I said, these dreams have a similar interpretation to each other. Each depicts Joseph’s brothers bowing down to him. The only difference between them is that the second dream expands to include Joseph’s parents also bowing down to him. Genesis 42-43 shows the fulfillment of these dreams as Joseph’s brothers bow down before him.

Reaction to the Dreams

When Joseph told his brothers the first dream, we read that they hated him even more than they had already (Genesis 37:5, 8). When Joseph told his brothers the second dream, we read that they became jealous of him (Genesis 37:11). We read in Genesis 37:10 that when Joseph told his father the second dream, Jacob initially rebuked him for the dream, but in Genesis 37:11 we’re told that Jacob “kept the saying in mind.” In some ways you could say that Jacob’s initial reaction was similar to that of Joseph’s brothers. None of them seemed happy to be hearing that they would bow down to Joseph. But what they did with that information was completely different. Joseph’s brothers, who already hated him, allowed the dreams to cause more hate in their hearts for Joseph. Joseph’s father, who loved him, did not allow the dreams to cause hate. He kept them in mind. He never eliminated the possibility that the dreams could be true. We know that Jacob had himself experienced the Lord speaking to him in a dream (Genesis 28) so I think he was open to the notion that what Joseph was saying may have been true. I think this situation also teaches us about how hate can cloud our judgment. The hate in the brothers’ hearts didn’t allow them to accept the possibility that the dreams were true; it only allowed them to hate him more. Joseph’s brothers had hate, jealousy and bitterness in their hearts. We need to be careful never to allow those things to remain unchecked in our hearts, because they will only breed more negative thoughts and feelings. If they had already dealt with the hate they had in their hearts toward Joseph, they may have responded more in the way that Jacob did: initially annoyed but ultimately intrigued.

Law of Depravity

Genesis 37:18 says, “They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.” We read in verse 19 that the brothers were still bitter about his dreams as they referred to him as “the dreamer” and in verse 20 they say that they will kill him and see “what will become of his dreams.” Because they had allowed these emotions of hate, jealousy and bitterness to fester unchecked in their hearts, their hearts were open to more sin. Unchecked sin is like a doorstop keeping the door of our hearts open so the enemy can gain access and introduce new sins. Their initial sin of hate was not premeditated, it was reactionary. But their plan to murder Joseph was done with premeditation. This is a classic example of the “Law of Depravity” at work. Small sins left unchecked lead to bigger sins which lead to bigger sins and so on. And not only do the sins become greater in number and scale, but they also become easier to commit. I always say that no man wakes up one morning with a completely healthy marriage and then goes to bed that night with another woman. Sins build on top of other sins. They always start simple and then get worse. If we don’t check our hearts, we are headed down a dangerous path that will not likely end well. This is why we must pray and ask the Holy Spirit to check our hearts and reveal sins to us.

Rescued, Sort of

Genesis 37:21 says, “But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’” In Genesis 37:22-24 we see that Reuben comes up with a solution to save Joseph. Instead of killing him, they only strip him of his robe (the one that his father gave him) and threw him into a pit. I’m not really sure how much credit to give Reuben. I mean, on the one hand, I love the fact that Reuben stood up to his brothers and spared Joseph’s life. I think it seems pretty clear that his intentions of sparing Joseph were pure because after Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery (Genesis 37:25-28), Reuben went back to the pit to get Joseph (Genesis 37:29). We can tell from what happens that Reuben genuinely expected him to be there so he could save him. This also means that Reuben wasn’t in on the plot to sell him. So, from that standpoint, I guess I can’t really fault Reuben. But on the other hand, I can’t help but feel like Reuben could have done more from the onset. Even though his intentions were good, I’m not sure he went about it the right way. Maybe he was afraid that if he sided with Joseph too much, he too may have faced his brothers’ fury. I just feel like he could have handled the situation better. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. I will at least say this: Reuben was purer than his brothers in his heart.

The Cover Up

So, what happened after Joseph was sold into slavery? His brothers tried to cover it up. In Genesis 37:31, 32 we read that they took Joseph’s robe and dipped it into goat blood and then brought it to their father. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t say that they claimed Joseph was dead. They simply brought the robe dipped in blood to their father and asked him to identify it as Joseph’s. From there, they let Jacob connect the dots on his own Genesis 37:33). I’m sure that in their minds this probably justified them. I mean, they “technically” weren’t lying to their father, right? Of course, we see right through that. They intentionally went out of their way to kill a goat and dip Joseph’s robe in the blood to make it appear as though he was dead. They were using deception and they were wrong to deceive their father, regardless of whether or not they specifically said Joseph was dead. I think we all must be careful not to make this same mistake. We can rationalize our sin and try to justify ourselves, even though we know what we’re doing is wrong. Not telling the truth is the same thing as lying.

It’s Their Story and They’re Sticking to It

It was bad enough that Jacob’s sons deceived him, but I think it got worse. We see Jacob’s reaction in Genesis 37:34 which says, “Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.” Jacob was heartbroken; he was devastated. Yet, even still, Jacob’s sons did not tell him the truth. In verse 35, Jacob basically says that he misses Joseph so much that life is no longer worth living. Even still, they do not tell their father the truth. In fact, earlier in Genesis 37:35 we read, “All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him…” So, according to this verse, Jacob’s sons “tried” to comfort him. Of course, they could have, at any moment, brought him some actual comfort by coming clean, but they stuck with their deception. They cared more about covering up what they did than they did about their father being comforted.

Meanwhile…

I love that after reading many verses about Joseph’s brothers and their hatred for Joseph and their plot and their deception, Genesis 37:36 begins with the word “meanwhile.” To me it’s almost like it’s saying, “Man has his plans, but "meanwhile" God is orchestrating His will!” Joseph’s brothers are busy doing their thing; “meanwhile” God is doing his. This brings to mind one of my favorite proverbs. It is found in Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”

Day 7 - Genesis 15:1-21 - God's Covenant with Abram

The Promise Expanded

We discussed God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12 in the last study. Here in the first 5 verses of Genesis 15, we see a little more detail into the promise. In Genesis 15:4, God told Abram that He would give him a son of his own to be his heir. And as we referenced in the last study, God told Abram that his offspring would be so many that they would not be able to be numbered (15:5).

Justified by Faith

Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” This is incredible. We know that Abram was at least 75 and that Sarai was at least 65 years old. They were past the standard reproductive age. Yet God tells Abram that he will become a great nation and that it will be through his own son. I don’t know about you, but I might be double-checking that I heard the Lord correctly. Yet, this verse tells us that he believed God. Furthermore, that faith was counted to him as righteousness. In fact, while proving that we are justified by faith and not by our works, Paul references this verse as an example (Romans 4:3). We need to be people that believe God when He tells us something.

Covenant Preparations

In Genesis 15:8, Abram asks God how he will know that he will possess the land God had promised him. God replied by telling Abram to prepare a covenant (Genesis 15:9-11). During this time, people would cut animals in half and place them on either side of an area. The parties making the covenant would each then walk between the pieces. By walking between the pieces, they were essentially saying, “If I break my end of the deal, let me become like these animals.” In other words, they were saying, “If I don’t follow through on my part of the covenant, I die.” This same process is referenced in Jeremiah 34:18-20.

Slavery Foretold

We read in Genesis 15:12 that a deep sleep fell on Abram. During this sleep, God told Abram that his offspring would be slaves for 400 years. Of course, we know that this did in fact happen and can be read about in the beginning of Exodus. We also know that Abraham did not keep this to himself. In Genesis 50:24, 25 Joseph tells his brothers that God will bring them up out of Egypt. In fact he was so certain that he made them promise that they would take his bones with them when he went. James confirms that this is what Joseph was referring to in James 11:22 which says, “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.”

One-sided Covenant

Genesis 15:17 says, “When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.” Genesis 15:18-21 continues to say that God made a covenant with Abram that He would give him the land He promised. As we discussed above, during this time a covenant was made by cutting animals in half and with each party passing through the pieces. What makes this covenant unique is that only one party passed between the pieces: God! God did not require Abram to seal the covenant with Him in return. So, basically what God was saying (if we use my interpretation of how the covenant might be worded above) was, “If I don’t fulfill my end of the deal, I die. If you don’t fulfill your end of the deal, I die.” God was the only one taking the responsibility of consequences of the covenant if it were broken. And we know that God fulfilled the promise He made here to Abram. The Israelites did not hold up their end of the covenant which was to honor God. So, the moment that Jesus died upon the cross, God fulfilled the covenant that He made to Abram. God already knew that Jesus would have to come and die. That’s why God made the one-sided covenant. What an awesome, loving, compassionate, just, holy God that we serve!

Day 6 - Genesis 12:1-20 - The Call of Abram

A Common Theme: Obedience

It seems that there is one clear, definite characteristic that great men (and women) of God have in common: obedience. Abram is no different. Genesis 12:1 says, “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:4 begins with, “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him…” Notice what God is really saying to Abram in verse 1: “Leave everything you know and are comfortable with to go to a place you’ve never been.” God doesn’t even tell Abram where He’s going to take him. And to Abram, it didn’t matter. The “where” didn’t matter because he trusted the “Who!” May we too be men (and women) who go when God’s tells us to where God tells us, without question or hesitation. We should never be worried about the where, because we have confidence in the Who!

Pretty Amazing Promise

Look at God’s promise to Abram in Genesis 12:2, 3: “2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 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.” Wow! First, God promises to make him a great nation. Next, God blesses his name. Then, God says He will bless those who bless him and curse those who dishonor him. Finally God promises to bless the whole earth through him. Let’s take a little closer look at each of these promises:

1. A great nation – Have you ever seen how proud people are when they become grandparents? Furthermore, have you ever seen how proud people are when they become great-grandparents? And they’re not only proud of the first grandchild or great-grandchild. They’re proud of each one. And they keep count. Have you ever wondered why that is? I believe it’s because we all have a desire to leave a legacy. The larger the family, the larger the potential of that legacy. God promises Abram that He is going to make him a great nation. That is a pretty amazing legacy. If we look a little deeper though, something else should jump out to us as clearly evident: According to Genesis 12:4, Abram was already 75 years old, and he didn’t yet have any children. Imagine being a person who doesn’t have any legacy (no children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren) at 75 years old. How excited would you be if God told you that not only will you have a legacy, but it will be great (greater than the stars in the sky [Genesis 15:5]).
2. A great name – I am intrigued by the contrast between this situation and the one from our previous study in the previous chapter. The people who tried to build the tower to heaven in Genesis 11 did so in an attempt to make a name for themselves. No name was made for them. From what we read, Abram did not attempt to make a name for himself. He was a humble man. A name was made for him. It is impossible to make a name for yourself (no matter how hard you may try). Only God can make a name for us. And ironically, the only way that happens is if we don’t desire it.
3. A blessing and a curse – Have you ever had a friend that you decided you would always want to be with you if you ever got in a fight? You know, the strong, tough one who gave you a little bit of a sense that nobody would want to mess with him and thus wouldn’t want to mess with you. Well, multiply that by infinity and you will know what Abram must have felt like. Basically God tells Abram that He’s got his back. The even more amazing, awesome, humbling thing in all this is that God has our back too.
4. A blessing for all – The last part of the promise is easily the most awesome. God tells Abram that it will be through him that all families will be blessed. This is a clear reference to the fact that Jesus, the Savior of mankind, would be born as a descendant of Abram. It was through his line that God the Father chose to send God the Son to die as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. After all, there is no way to the Father but through Jesus (John 14:6)

Praising God

There are two occasions where we see that Abram built an altar to God (Genesis 12: 7, 8). The first altar Abram built came after the LORD appeared to him – because of something God had done. The second altar Abram built came out of his desire to call upon the name of the LORD. I think that our praise to God needs to include both these same elements. We need to praise God in response to all He does and we need to praise God just because of who He is!

Famine

It’s so intriguing to me that Abram went to Egypt as a result of there being a famine in the land where he was. As we read in Genesis 41-47, this is the same situation that ultimately led Jacob and his offspring to travel to Egypt and live there. In fact, they remained in Egypt for hundreds of years (in slavery) before God led them back to the land He promised (Promise Land) through Moses and Joshua.

Beautiful Woman

Genesis 12:4 tells us that Abram was 75 years old when he left on his journey. Genesis 17:17 tells us that when Isaac was born, Abraham (his name had just been changed from Abram) was 100 years old and Sarah (her name had just been changed from Sarai) was 90 years old. This means that Abram was 10 years older than Sarai, which means that when Abram was 75, Sarai was 65. So, Sarai was at least 65 years old when Abram is convinced that her beauty will work against him and he asks her to say she is his sister instead of his wife (Genesis 12:11-13). And Sarai was at least 65 when the Egyptians saw that she was beautiful and the princes of Pharaoh praised her to Pharaoh so that she was taken into Pharaoh’s house (12:14, 15). I would think that based on the evidence in this passage, Sarai was incredibly beautiful…at 65 years old! How is this relevant? Well, it was because of her beauty that she ended up at Pharoah’s house and it was because of her beauty that Pharoah dealt well with Abram, giving him wealth—sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys and camels (12:16). It’s no coincedence that these things happened. God had it planned all along.

Sanctity of Marriage

I had an unsaved friend recently comment to me that there is no longer sanctity of marriage. He said it is only a myth. I, of course, took offense to that statement. As I explained to my friend, it’s not that there is no longer sanctity of marriage, it’s that many people don’t respect or honor that sanctity. We see how clear God is on the sanctity of marriage in Genesis 12:17-20. Sarai was already married to Abram and God did not approve of another man (even the most powerful man in the nation) messing with a married woman. God created marriage. And God created the sanctity of marriage. By definition, marriage has sanctity. We simply choose whether or not we will respect and honor it. If we disrespect and dishonor it, we disrespect and dishonor God!