Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2020

God Honors His Promise

He's Not Broken One Yet — Never Will!

Nothing is unnecessary or random in the story of Esau’s descendants. God is present between the lines. And God’s love and providential care pictured in Esau’s history is a perpetual reminder, among other things, of his care and competence in managing your history as well. How wonderful, how marvelous is the love of the Savior even for the fallen sons of Adam, the Esau’s of this world—which includes you.

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 36:1, 20, 31

This is the account of the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom). …These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. …These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites. …These are the names of the leaders of the clans descended from Esau, who lived in the places named for them.

Genealogies—argh, thar drivin’ me nuts!

As I mentioned in the genealogical reading from Genesis 10:1, reading the Biblical genealogies is akin to reading from the phone book: an endless list of meaningless names that we’re tempted to skip past. In that case, we were reading about the history that would lead to the man, Abraham, who would become the father of many nations, the patriarch of the Hebrew nation (Romans 4:1), and the spiritual father of all who place faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 411). In this case, this is the genealogy of the brother of Jacob, Esau, who sold his birthright, who did not factor into God’s plan for the ages as Jacob did. Reading this endless list of names is not only akin to reading from the phonebook, it is like trying to read it in Russian.

Yet as I said, every name in human history, recorded or not, represents a story, and every person is significant in the history of God’s saving work and his redemptive plan for the ages. People matter to God—not only the Jacob’s of this world, but so too the Esau’s. And God desires to bless them wherever they live on planet earth and in whatever epoch of time they have lived.

You see, we should care about Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, because they were offspring of Abraham, whom God promised to multiply and make a blessing to the entire earth.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Because Esau was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, God put his blessing upon him—he bore many sons—and not only blessing, but honor, for Esau’s sons became leaders of men:

These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites. (Genesis 331)

Ultimately, Edom will not factor into the Biblical narrative as God focuses his plan for the redemption of the earth through Jacob’s line, the children of Israel, but this account does show us yet again that God performs his promises, in this case, that indeed Abraham would become the father of many nations. God fulfilled his word to Rebekah, the mother of the twin brothers, Esau and Jacob, that two nations were in her womb. (Genesis 25:23) And God did bring to pass the divine blessing of Isaac to Esau (Genesis 27:39-40), that he would dwell “in the fatness of the earth” and break free from the domination of his brother. (RSV)

Nothing is unnecessary or random in this story. God is present here. And God’s love and providential care is pictured in Esau’s history, as a reminder, among other reasons, of God’s care and competence in managing your history as well. How wonderful, how marvelous is the love of the Savior even for the fallen sons of Adam, the Esau’s of this world—and that is me, and that is you.

God keeps every single promise. Never forget that.

Going Deeper: Perhaps you feel like an insignificant nobody among all the billions of people who live on Planet Earth. Wrong! God has his eye on you. And he will fulfill his word to you. Take that by faith, and rejoice a little today that God has amazing plans for your life.

Posted on Monday, March 23, 2020

Blessed To Be A Blessing

You Can Be A Conduit Of Divine Favor

God wants to bless you so that you can be a blessings, a conduit of blessing, if you will. Those blessings will be more than you need, more than you deserve and more than you can handle. But remember, the blessings God gives you are to bless him by blessing others in a way that furthers his fame and fulfills his purposes on earth. God wants to bless you—so let him!

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 35:2-3, 9-12

So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” … After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”

God was bound and determined to bless Jacob. And God is determined to bless all his people—and that includes you.

God had appeared to Jacob at a place Jacob later named Bethel, which means the house of God, and there the Lord blessed him. (Genesis 28:10-22) It was at this time that God established a covenant of blessing with him that he had made with his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac. The divine pledge was to protect him, provide for him and to prosper him, turning his seed into a nation of untold number that would be a conduit of blessing to the entire world. Jacob’s end of the bargain was to follow wherever God led, trust the Lord alone, and serve the purpose of God in the world.

Now God reappears to Jacob here in Genesis 35 and reaffirms the covenant, once again at Bethel, the house of God. God blesses him once again and reminds him that his seed will multiply beyond number, and that his descendants will greatly influence the entire world. God is bound and determined to bless Jacob.

And God is bound and determined to bless you. Certainly not in the same way as Jacob—it is not likely that out of your lineage will come a nation. But blessings nevertheless are reserved in God’s treasury for you, me and all of God’s people.

Now it is critical to keep in mind that the blessings of God were not for Jacob only; God had a larger purpose to fulfill his kingdom plans throughout the earth and throughout history—and Jacob was the conduit. Of course, as those blessings flowed through the pipeline, the residue of blessing would be left—more blessing than Jacob needed, deserved or could even handle.

Likewise, God’s plans to bless us are not for our pure enjoyment only. God desires to fulfill his purposes through us in our world and beyond our lives by these blessings he bestows upon us. We must learn to align ourselves to receive his blessings, and we must never forget that our blessings should be leveraged to further God’s kingdom through our lives to our world—and that the proper use of our blessings will impact lives beyond our own lifespan.

Jacob aligned his life to receive the blessing. In this case, he jettisoned all the gods his people had maintained. Obviously, he was aware of these since he now called for them to be brought to him. Perhaps he maintained a god or two himself. But he knew it was now necessary to remove anything that stood between him and full allegiance and full devotion to God—which is the essence of a false god. He recognized that to enter into his new identity, Israel—one who prevails with God, and therefore, one who is bless-able before God (Genesis 35:10), he would need to remove any vestige of the old life of deceit and manipulation—which was fundamental to his former identity as Jacob. And now, having purified himself and aligned himself with God’s purposes, he again set up an altar at Bethel (Genesis 35:7,14) to be a continual reminder of his new identity, a continual commitment to God’s purpose, and a continual plumb-line for alignment to the blessings of God.

God wants to make you a conduit of blessing, too. Those blessings will be more than you need, more than you deserve and more than you can handle (in the best sense of uncontainable blessings). But remember, the blessings are to bless God by blessings others in a way that furthers God’s fame and fulfills his purposes in the earth.

What a thought, and what a privilege to be a conduit of God. And the only fitting response to that divine generosity is to sanctify yourself as a holy conduit and to build a sacred altar in your memory as a reminder of God’s covenant with you, lest you begin to think the blessings are for you and a result of you.

God is bound and determined to bless you—don’t mess that up!

Going Deeper: I’m sure, just as I do, that you want God’s uncontainable blessing poured out in your life, too. A man named Jabez prayed a simple prayer for those blessings (1 Chronicles 4:9-11) that I invite you to pray with me today: “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” May God grant that humble request.

Posted on Friday, March 20, 2020

God’s Inexorable March Through The Messes We Make

Thank God For Grace

In the Genesis account, the men that God elected as patriarchs of the nation he will call his own, even while they express faith in him and risk greatly to follow his call, still choose selfishly and foolishly at times. Yet God, always gracious, always working to move his plan to fruition, works through flawed human beings like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to bring about his will. Of course, there are sad and lingering consequences to human sin, but in the end, the will of God prevails and his blessings spill out upon his people. Thank God for his grace, mercy and his inexorable work to accomplish his purposes among his people—and that includes your life and mine.

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 34:9-10, 13,

So Hamor the Canaanite said to Jacob and his sons, “Let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we will give you our daughters for your sons. And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.” … But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor. …But three days later two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there.

What do you do with a story like this? Jacob’s daughter is raped by a Canaanite, the sons of Jacob take revenge on the city of the man who violated her, killing all the men and enslaving all the survivors, making Israel a stench to the other peoples of the land?

How can we wrest an uplifting devotional out of this? What is the take-away here, if there is one at all? Obviously, this is one of the difficult passages in the Bible.

While the narrative gets down in the dirt of sexual assault, violated family honor, revenge and the old school human law of eye-for-eye—although the punishment here far exceeded that—what we find, nevertheless, is that this sad and disturbing account moves forth the theme that God still works through flawed human beings and in spite of the selfish, destructive, sinful things we do to one another.

So far in the Genesis account of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, we have seen how men elected by God as their patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even while they have expressed faith in the Lord and have risked greatly to follow his call, still choose selfishly and foolishly at times. Yet God, always gracious, always working to move his plan to fruition, works through flawed human beings to bring about his will. Of course, there are sad and lingering consequences to human sin, but in the end, the will of God prevails and his blessings spill out upon his people.

Thank God for his grace, mercy and his inexorable work to accomplish his purposes among his people—and that includes your life and mine.

Going Deeper: Even though this has been a repeated theme throughout Genesis so far, again today I would suggest that you offer to God a prayer of gratitude for his grace and mercy. It would also be appropriate to pray what Jesus taught us to pray: “lead us not into temptation.”

Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Reconciled Relationships

A Gift No Other Gift Can Match

God made us to live in reconciled relationships, first with him and then with each other. When we are at peace in our relational world, it is like being ever before the face of God. When a broken relationship has been restored, it is a gift of God’s grace that no other gift in the world can match. Thank God for reconciled relationships!

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 33: 24-25, 10-11

But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.

Thank God for reconciled relationships!

Unfortunately, sin leads us to deceive one another, or dominate, or even destroy our most priceless treasures—people we love. And once sin sets in, distance is caused between two who were once close. Ultimately, division is created, feelings are wounded and covenants are fractured. Though we might be able to explain the causes and justify the results, disunity is a result of sin, and the divide that is created between two human beings is the Enemy’s stock-in-trade.

Yet God has provided a path for the mending of broken covenants, and the stepping stones on the path are repentance, forgiveness, restitution, reconciliation and restoration. Each of those steps can be seen in Jacob’s outreach to his brother, Esau.

Esau had been the wounded party; Jacob the perpetrator. Thankfully, Jacob took the initiative. In his wrestling match with God in the previous chapter, God had dealt with his deceptive ways, and Jacob repented. He then sought forgiveness from his brother, humbling himself in Esau’s presence. (Genesis 33:3) He even took it a step further by offering restitution, thus the gifts. (Genesis 33:8) Jacob’s act of contrition and Esau’s willingness to accept it led to reconciliation between the two, and ultimately to a restored relationship in the house of Isaac. (Genesis 33:4)

And what a beautiful story this is, one that has the smile of God plastered all over it.

Does reconciliation always happen when outreach is made? Not always. Sometimes the hurt is deep and time is needed. Sometimes the offender has not humbled himself enough to repair the breach. And often the wounded party, who in reality, has to pay the real cost of reconciliation—forgiveness—is simply not ready and willing to bear that price. Never the less, if there is fracture in your relational world, perhaps this story is a reminder to do what you must to reconcile.

If you were the offender, or even the offended, reach out and do what you can. Who knows what will happen, because the other person’s response is an unavoidable part of the equation. But the risk will be worth the reward, for the possibility of seeing the smile of God in the relationship is the best gift ever.

And even if restoration waits for a later day, the smile of God will be within your heart for giving every effort to attain unity with the offended party.

Going Deeper: If you have offended someone, remember, rarely is merely saying “sorry” going to be enough, especially if the offense is deep. Keep in mind that God has established a process, so don’t neglect to follow it step by step: repentance, forgiveness and restitution, then hopefully reconciliation and full restoration.

Posted on Friday, March 13, 2020

Touched By The Divine

Wrestling With God Always Leaves A Mark

When my grandson Noah comes for a visit, quite often the first thing out of his mouth is, “Hey Papa, let’s wrestle!” Every believer, at some point, needs to grapple with God, too. You see, into your relationship with him you bring vestiges of your sin nature: the part of you that resists him, wants to do things your way, wants to hang on to things that are, at worst, destructive, and at best, barriers to his best for you. Sooner or later, that needs to get wrestled out of you; you’ve got to surrender it to God.

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 32: 24-25, 30-31

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket…Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared. The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip.

When my grandson Noah comes for a visit, quite often the first thing out of his mouth is, “Hey Papa, let’s wrestle!” And I oblige him, of course. I even let him prevail, which builds his confidence and courage as a little man, and likewise, builds closeness with his adoring Papa.

Perhaps you, too, are due a wrestling match of sorts with the Almighty. Every believer, at some point in their journey of faith needs to grapple with God. You see, into your relationship with the Lord you bring vestiges of your sin nature, the part of you that resists him, that wants to do things your way, that wants to hang on to things that are, at worst, destructive, and at best, barriers to his best in your life. Sooner or later, that needs to get wrestled out of you; you’ve got to surrender that to God.

Interestingly, as Jacob tangled with God, it left a mark—a permanent one. And that was good. But here is my question for you: is there any evidence—visible, quantifiable, observable proof—that you have encountered the Lord? Has your interaction with the God who longs to interact with you left his fingerprints on your life?

Why did Jacob need to wrestle with the Lord? I am sure there were reasons we may never completely understand. Perhaps it was fear and anxiety about his future. After all, the last time he saw Esau, his brother was none to happy, and now Esau is headed toward him with a full head of steam and an army of warriors. Maybe it was guilt and remorse over his past. Jacob has cheated just about everyone he has ever had a relationship with. It could be it was your run-of-the-mill dissatisfaction over who he was in the presence of the Lord. Jacob’s name meant surplanter or deceiver, and the fact that God renames him after their encounter suggests that Jacob was in desperate need of a new identity if Jacob was to move on with God. Whatever the case, Jacob wrestled all night with God.

And at the end of the contest Jacob is different. He has a new name and a limp. God has given him a new direction, a new identity, a new heritage, but perhaps best of all, an ever-present reminder, the limp, that he now belongs to God in a deeper way. From this point on, every time Jacob takes a step, he will think back to his life-changing encounter with God. And every time someone looks at Jacob and see his uneven gait, they, too, will be reminded that there goes a man who prevailed with God.

I pray that at some point, you and I will have that kind of encounter with God; one that permanently leaves us with his distinguishing touch. May the Lord overcome us with his presence and overwhelm us in his power. And may God leave evidence of his grace and love on us, body, soul and spirit—fingerprints all over our lives that we may be continually reminded that our identity is in him, our past is under his mercy, our future is in his hands and our victory is within his guarantee. And may others know, not for our own glory, but for his, that we have been with and belong to God Almighty.

Perhaps it is time for a wrestling match with the Almighty. Maybe you are still hanging on to anxiety about your future, guilt over your past, or dissatisfaction with your identity. It may sound a little strange, but perhaps you ought to say, “Hey Papa, let’s wrestle!”

And if you are dead serious, and if God graciously obliges, don’t be surprised that you will be touched by the Divine, and come away with a limp to prove it.

Going Deeper: Think about this: “If our identity is in our work [or anything else], rather than Christ, success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts.” (Timothy Keller) In what or whom do you base your identity? The answer is critical. If it is anything or anyone other than Christ, surrender it to him—even if it requires a wrestling match.

Posted on Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Flawless

God's Word Is Perfect

The Bible declares itself to be flawless, and history has proven that to be true. God’s Word is perfect—in what it declares, in what it calls us to do, in what it promises. It makes no mistakes, it never misleads and it never mismanages our lives when we give total allegiance and perfect obedience to it. Why then, would our walk with God be characterized by anything less than flawless fidelity and perfect obedience to his Word?

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 31:16, cf. Psalm 12:6

“So do whatever God has told you…The words of the Lord are flawless.”

The words of the Lord are flawless. The Bible declares that about itself, and history has proven it to be true. God’s Word is perfect—in what it declares, in what it calls us to do, in what it promises. It makes no mistakes, it never misleads and it never mismanages our lives when we give total allegiance and perfect obedience to it.

Why then, would our walk with God be characterized by anything else than flawless fidelity and perfect obedience to his Word? The Word is God—the revelation of himself to us. And just as his Word is flawless, so is he—perfect in character, true in all his ways, just in everything he says.

What that means is that God is perfect for us. In other words, he has never done us wrong, nor will he ever. And therefore, only perfect and trusting obedience to what he calls us to do is what he deserves, and is what is right. Flawless obedience to the flawless words of the flawless God brings glory to him—and it is good for us.

The Bible is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck; a sun without a blot; a light without darkness; a moon without its paleness; a glory without a dimness. O Bible! It cannot be said of any other book that it is perfect and pure; but of thee we can declare all wisdom is gathered up in thee, without a particle of folly. This is the judge that ends the strife, where wit and reason fail. This is the book untainted by any error; but is pure, unalloyed, perfect truth. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon )

May we discover what these two flawed sisters, Leah and Rachel, had come to know about the God they followed: that all of his ways were perfect and each of his words were true. And because he had proven himself as such, they were willing to fully submit to what the Lord had instructed their husband to do.

Going Deeper: Let me suggest a prayer for you to offer to God today: “Perfect Father, I want my walk with you to be characterized 24/7 by perfect obedience. You deserve nothing less. I ask you to give me a heart that passionately longs to obey you. Take away the heart that wants to go my own way, do my own thing, think my own thoughts, satisfy my own desires, and glorify my own ego. Father, your words are flawless, and like Leah and Rachel, I want to do whatever you tell me.”

Posted on Sunday, March 8, 2020

The Imperfect People of a Perfect God

The Great Eraser Does It Again

God accommodates his called ones. Yes, their sins have consequences and their actions produce long term effects that make the path to God’s plan unnecessarily painful. Yet God’s permissive will seems to allow for blessing to come through their flawed choices. “All things work together for good to those who are the called according to his purpose.” For instance, Israel foolishly asked for a king, and suffered the consequences for that choice, yet from God granting what they asked for comes kings like David, Hezekiah and Jesus. Newton was right: We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.”

The Journey // Focus: Genesis 30:22

Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.

If I were to arrive at a bottom line for this strange story of the “baby race” between Rachel and Leah, it would be this:

God will fulfill his plan, even through imperfect people!

God over-ruled the competition, jealousy, meanness, devaluing and cheating of these two sisters and their husband to accomplish his purpose of fulfilling his covenant with their forefathers to build a nation through them. As the great hymn writer John Newton observed, “We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.”

Why God does that, I don’t know, but thank God for his grace. If he didn’t, there would be no fulfillment of the Divine plan through human beings.

And thank God that his sovereign plan is unstoppable. In spite of our imperfections, when he has called us, he will perfect everything that concerns us. (Psalm 138:8) That doesn’t mean he will give us everything we want. Again, thank God for that. Because of our sin nature and our shortsightedness, often what we want would be destructive to our lives and would be damaging to God’s plan for us. No, when God perfects that which concerns us, he is not necessarily giving us what we want, he is giving us what he wants, which is what we really need.

On the surface, this Leah/Rachel narrative of sibling rivalry, manipulation of the divine will and of crediting God for human conniving seems to have the Lord’s stamp of approval. There is no divine rebuke recorded in this story. This is no consequence for sinful actions. It seems that God has winked at their sin in order to keep his long-range plan on track to bless the world through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But keep in mind that when you read the narrative sections of the Bible and you run into these kinds of stories of flawed human beings making questionable choices, their inclusion in Scripture is not an excuse of bad behavior; it is an explanation for how things came to be and how God will ultimately fix the human race through his Son.

That leads to another interesting facet to the saga of Jacob, the deceiver. Always attempting to work out God’s will on his own terms, he plans on carrying the family line on through the beautiful Rachel. God’s plan, however, was to fulfill his ultimate plan of a Messiah for the world through the less desirable Leah. God overrode Jacob’s plan by blessing Leah with many children, including the birth of Judah, from whose tribe would come the Lion of Judah, Jesus the Messiah, Lord and King, Savior of the World. God will fulfill his plan, not ours.

Yet God accommodates his called ones. Yes, their sins have consequences and their actions produce long term effects that make the path to God’s plan unnecessarily painful. Yet God’s permissive will seems to allow for blessing to come through their flawed choices. “All things work together for good to those who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) For instance, Israel foolishly asked for a king, and suffered the consequences for that choice, yet from God granting what they asked for comes kings like David, Hezekiah and Jesus. Newton was right: God overrules our mistakes.

With that in mind, we come to the text that tells us God remembered Rachel. Throughout Scripture, we see that God remembers his people, flawed as they are. God remembered Noah…God remembered Abraham…God remembered Hannah…God remembered Ephraim…God remembered his people. Is God remembering because he forget? Not at all. Is God simply remembering that person? In part, yes, but there is something more, something far greater that is going on when he remembers a person. The blessed truth is, God is calling to mind his plan, couched in his unbreakable covenant, and bringing back on track the conditions to bring about the results he has eternally declared.

God remember Rachel, and through her blessed with world with a son, Joseph, a type of savior whom God used to preserve his people in Egypt and to serve as an eternal example of ruthless trust in the sovereign plan of God.

The good news from this story is that God remembers you, too. As flawed and shorted sighted as you might be, if you have surrendered your life to him by grace through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, God will remember his plan for you. And he will fulfill his purposes for you. Even though you may sin, manipulate to get what you want, mess things up a bit, or a lot, God has a way of getting you to the finish of that which he has envisioned for your life as it fits into his eternal plan. At the end of the day,

“All glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” (Jude 1:24)

God remembers you, and he will fulfill his plans for you. You should remember that: it will go a lot better for you if you do.

Going Deep: Think of the consequences of this truth: God remembers you, and he will fulfill all of his purposes for you. What ramifications does that hold for your life today?