Category: Devotional

Abandoned by God?

A Wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to. This famous line by Gandalf the Grey introduces us to the character and sets a tone for how we see him, and how he sees himself. It is no secret that J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian and close friend of C.S. Lewis. And we can see reflections of Christian thoughts about good and evil and temptation and the darkness inside of us strewn throughout Middle Earth.

This line in particular is one that always stuck me as true of God. In particular His providential plans. Nothing happens before it’s time. God told Abraham the land of Canaan would be his… in 400 years. Because the Canaanites had not yet become lost to their own wickedness. God tells David a King will come from His line whose Kingdom will last forever. Again, it would be about 400 years before Jesus would be born to fulfill that promise. We see such things over and over again throughout the Bible.

Today’s story is no different, even if the timeline is substantially shorter. Joseph uses his God-given gift of dream interpretation to help out fellow prisoners who were from Pharaoh’s house. Joseph asks the cup-bearer to plead his case to Pharaoh on his behalf, that Joseph might be released to go home to his family. The cup-bearer agreed, then promptly forgot.

But God had other plans for Joseph. Some time later Pharaoh had a dream that he wanted interpreted. NOW the cup-bearer remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh. Upon correctly interpreting Pharaoh’s dream and warning him about an impending famine, Joseph is hastily foisted into command of all of Egypt under only Pharaoh himself. This position would benefit not only Jospeh, but also his family in a powerful way. But for now we’ll stick that in our pocket, ’cause we’ll come back to it later.

This point is this: I don’t know why you are going through what you are going through. I don’t know why it’s hard for you right now. But, just as Hagar said, the Lord is “El Roi”, the God who sees you. You have not been abandoned, there is something coming. Because the Lord is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.

Genesis 35:38-39, 40:1-41:57 | 015/365

Bold As Love

Anger! He smiles
Towering in shiny metallic purple armor
Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

Jimi Hendrix rightly recognizes that jealousy often fuels the wrong kinds of anger. Such is the case with Joseph’s brothers. There’s plenty to be jealous about, Joseph is the youngest and the apple of his father’s eye. The little brother is a snitch. And Jospeh also appears to have no filter of any kind. When Joseph shares the dreams about his family bowing down to him, it is not clear from the text whether he is trying to flaunt/taunt his brother with it because they are so mean to him, or whether Jospeh just has a hard time reading the room.

In any case, his brother plot to kill him, but Reuben talks them into merely abandoning him in a well to die of starvation or exposure. Of course his real plan was to go rescue Joseph later, but that part is never said aloud. Well, Judah realizes they can make some cash off the deal by selling Joseph to the passing Ishmaelite traders. Later Reuben comes to rescue his brother only to find that he is gone. Similarly, Jacob is told that Joseph was mauled to death by a wild animal and mourns for a long time.

If we know that something is wrong, it isn’t enough to simply think it’s wrong and make a secret plan to circumvent the wrong-doers, we must be willing to stand up, be unpopular, possibly even be hated in order to do what is right. And by ‘right’ I mean righteous. We cannot allow ourselves to have a timid love, that is hidden and only allowed out when we think we are in the majority or it won’t ruffle any feathers. We must be bold. Bold as love.

Genesis 37-39; 1 Chronicles 2:3-6, 8 | 014/365

Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust

Immediately after Jacob returns home and he and Esau bury their father, Isaac, Esau moves his household out of the land because, basically, this town ain’t big enough for the two of us. He settles outside Canaan in Edom. They appointed kings and traded with Egypt, and eventually warred with Israel. How does Esau go so far wrong?

He showed no respect for his birthright, giving it away from some stew. This flippant, careless attitude would have reflected very poorly on him, and likely affected how his family, friends, and possibly even the wider community saw him.

Then he is cheated out of his Father’s blessing by his brother and his mother. It is possible that Rebekah was worried that Esau would treat his father’s blessing with the same contempt as his birthright, and thus sought to put it on the son who appreciated it’s value.

Possibly Esau was scarred by his own regrets and the actions of his family against him, and as a final act of breaking from both his family and the God of his ancestors, Esau leaves the promised land.

And so Esau’s rejection of his family and of God is complete. He will be a ‘self-made man’. And he flourishes into a small, semi-nomadic kingdom that would trade with Egypt and flourish under the Persians…

But eventually the Prophets Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Malachi would all pronounce God’s judgement on Edom. They were wiped off the face of the earth, and until 2021 they were totally absent from the archaeological record.

You can go it on your own. And you might even be quite successful at it. But as God tells Adam in Genesis 3:19, “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” When this life is over the self-made men and women will return to the ground from which they came and then stand before the judgement throne of God. All their hard work and determination will counted for nothing and their death will be eternal.

Let us appreciate the gifts that God has given. Recognize them for what they are. Cherish them and keep them close to our hearts. In that was we can build something of value that lasts forever.

Genesis 36; 1 Chronicles 1:35-54, 2:1-2 | 013/365

At His Feet

When Jacob finally begins the journey home with his household (which included all his servants, animals, and belongings) he is concerned that his previous actions toward his brother Esau will come home to roost.

He assumes that his father Isaac has likely passed at this point, and with Jacob nowhere to be found, Esau would have inherited everything. Enough to destroy his scheming homecoming brother.

Jacob devises a plan to try and save as many members of his household as possible should Esau and his 400 men have vengeance on their minds. But then he prays to God to save him. To keep him. To protect him.

It is unclear from the text whether Esau’s intentions changed between when he left and when he arrived, or whether Jacob’s newfound faith let him see how badly he treated Esau and so expected a strong retribution.

Either way, when Esau finally arrived, he greeted his brother with a smile and a warm embrace. Jacob’s fear were allayed. God had protected him just as He promised He would… just as Jacob had prayed.

When we have things before us that make us nervous, don’t just make a plan and do it under your own power. Invite God into every step. Let Him form your plans and let Him guide your work. His desire is to take care of his children.

Lay every plan at His feet and ask Him how He would like you to proceed. You won’t be disappointed with the outcome.

Genesis 32-35 | 012/365

God Could Never Use Me

How many of us have uttered this sentence, or held this thought?

If ever you feel like you’re too messed up to be used by God, read the Bible. See how He uses deeply flawed people to accomplish His purposes all the time.

Just in today’s passage; Jacob is cheated by Laban, so he rigs the system to get Laban back and Rachel steals from her father’s house and lies to his face about it.

This is the man who would become the namesake for Israel and the woman who gave birth to two of the 12 tribes of Israel. They are NOT insignificant contributors! God even appears to the unbeliever Laban to issue a warning.

The point is this: no amount of human sin or interference will stop God from achieving His plans.

So you should worry less about being perfect, and more about recognizing your sin and submitting yourself to God.

Remember David wasn’t a person patterned after God’s heart, but a deeply flawed person seeking after God’s heart.

So should we all be.

Genesis 30:25-31:55 | 011/365

What Does God Feel Like?

God appears to Jacob in a dream and confirms His covenant with Abraham. Gods words are positive and encouraging, yet Jacob was afraid. Understanding the awesome power of the one true God. And after this encounter with the Lord, he erects a monument to God, and to mark a place of worship.

There are times when God feels far and there are times when God feels near. We should make note of those times when God is near. When He shows Himself to us in powerful ways. Because those monuments, those markers, will remind us of God’s faithfulness in the times of trial, suffering, and reproof.

And remember that even when we don’t “feel” it, He is still Emmanuel, God with us.

Genesis 28:6-30:24 | 010/365

Your Lack of Planning Isn’t My Problem

Esau goes out hunting and come home famished. He asks his brother for some stew and Jacob – as brothers do – needed something in return.

Jacob asked for Esau’s birthright and Esau, evidently a drama queen, says he’s going to literally die if he doesn’t eat. So he trades his birthright for some stew.

Esau lost out because he was too lazy or bad at planning. We often give Jacob grief for this move, but it is Esau’s fault. Esau should have said, “fat chance” and pulled some jerky out of his bag.

Work hard and be diligent to prepare. If you choose not to, whatever happens as a result is no one’s responsibility but your own.

Genesis 25:27-28:5 | 009/365

Hard Things are Harder, but They’re Better

This is a little piece of wisdom from my wife. She always laughs at it, but I’ve always thought it was profound in it’s obvious simplicity. I think this is what we see in God’s method of bringing his covenant with Abraham to fulfillment. Sarah had trouble conceiving, but Hagar had no such issues. Even elderly Abraham had 6 children with the woman he married after Sarah’s death.

In the same way, Isaac marries Rebekah, who also has fertility issues, they pray to God and she does eventually have twins. Jacob and Esau. But Ishmael, Abraham’s eldest son had no issues producing heirs. 12 boys, not to mention however many girls may also have been born to him.

And then Jacob, the one who would become the namesake for the entire nation of Israel, was called “deceiver” at his birth (and engaged in plenty of shenanigans throughout his life). God seems to enjoy subverting expectations, taking the hard road, and achieving the improbable.

When God says, “Trust me”, He really means it. I’ve witnessed it personally in my life. Several times. There is nothing He cannot do, yield yourself to Him and watch His plan work itself out.

Genesis 25:1-11; 1 Chronicles 1:28-31, 34 | 008/365

Adding Value to Your Life and the Lives of Others

Abraham is worried about who his son, Isaac, will choose to marry. And so he sends out his oldest servant to find his a wife — not among the Canaanites in the foreign land they inhabited, but from among his own people, Israel. The servant arrives and sets 3 criteria when he prays to find a woman who says, “Yes (kindness) have a drink (service) and I will water your camels too (thoughtfulness).”

This is a woman who exemplifies the love of God. She had drawn the water for herself and her family, it’s not like she was hoping to bump into someone to give it to. Now she gave her water to this foreign visitor, and not only that, she had to make at a minimum two more trips to the well. One or more for the camels, and one or more for her original purposes. She fulfilled not only the request of the stranger, but saw — and met — an unspoken need as well.

We should strive to be like Rebekah. Adding value to the lives of others through kindness, and observation, and service. And we should surround ourselves with Rebekahs who will do the same. In that way we can carry and support each other as we seek to emulate Christ.

Have a blessed Sunday. See you at church.

Genesis 21:8-24:67 | 007/365

Influence

Influence. We are all affected by it. Whether we are subject to it or exerting it.

Such is the case with Lot and his family. When two angels of the Lord come to Sodom to test Lot’s righteousness, he takes them in offering to wash their feet and house them for the night. But the townspeople want Lot to deliver these strangers over to be sexually abused.

Lot instead appears to offer his virgin (engaged) daughters. APOLOGETIC NOTE: How is this a righteous man!? What a monstrous thing to do! It is unlikely that Lot was actually offering up his daughters to this mob. In reality he was making such a statement only rhetorically as if to say, “please treat these foreigners with the same care you would treat the most vulnerable members of our own community”.

The angels of the Lord protect Lot and his family, but both of the daughters’ fiancés refuse to leave the city and are destroyed. Lot’s wife looks back at what she is leaving behind and is destroyed. And some time later, Lot’s daughters get him drunk to commit incest with him. Their children become tribes that would be enemies of Israel.

Be careful with whom you associate, what you read, and what you listen to. We can be influenced by cultural ideas slowly and seditiously, often without even realizing it. Does this mean we should hide in a Christian bubble? Hardly, but make sure those people and things which have the most influential roles in your life and spurring you on toward Christ.

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