Memorize this . . .

For the Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
—JOB 33:4

Memorize this . . .

Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
—JOB 6:25

Memorize this . . .

He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
he will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them.
He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them.
He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.
—PSALM 73:12-14

What goes around . . .

Jacob's deceptions come back to haunt him when he goes to look for a wife. First off, his uncle requires him to work for 7 years for the right to marry Laban's youngest daughter Rachel. Then when the wedding night comes, Laban tricks Jacob into sleeping with his oldest daughter, Leah. This leads to Jacob working another 7 years for the right to marry Rachel. You could say Jacob is paying for his earlier deceptive behavior or you could say this group of people just had a knack for deceiving others or you could wonder (again) how such flawed people became the founders of our faith.

Regardless, they had to know this situation was not going to be good.

These deceptions led to an unloving marriage between Jacob and Leah ("the Lord saw that Leah was unloved" Genesis 29:31).

These deceptions led to Leah attempting to earn Jacob's love through bearing him children ("The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me" Genesis: 29:32).

These deceptions led to jealousy between sisters because Rachel could not have children.

These deceptions led to servants becoming wives ("So Rachel gave servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her." Genesis 30:4).

These deceptions led to the selling of sexual rights between Rachel and Leah over a handful of mandrakes.

These deceptions led to the Jacob having 12 sons between two wives and two servant wives.

And these deceptions led to the creation of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Once again, this is an amazing story of how the actions of flawed humans can be used for a greater good—God's plan.

The making of a "founder of our faith"

It's amazing what God can do in our sinfulness—but the stories sure looks odd in print. As I read through Genesis, I'm struck by the brokenness of those God choses to use. Starting with Adam and Eve and going through Abram to Jacob, there is brokenness and sin at every turn. God chooses to use these people despite their actions for His ultimate plan. One of these people is Jacob.

With a name that means "deceiver," it should come as no surprise to us that Jacob is known for manipulation and deception. He starts off by trading food for his older brother's birthrights. Then he colludes with his mom to steal his father's blessings that should have gone to his older brother, Esau. In all of this, Jacob ends up with the blessings that God had given to his father, Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham: "Your descendants will be numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendents." (Genesis 28:14) Wow! This isn't some small blessing given down from father to son; this is one of the greatest of blessings God will ever give out.

A couple of questions come to mind: One, if Jacob hadn't manipulated and deceived his father, would Esau have been the son who was so beautifully blessed? There doesn't seem to be any indication that this would have happened, but Esau was no more sinful than Jacob and thus could have been the chosen one. Or did God plan to bless Jacob from the beginning and thus would have found another way to bless him with this covenant? Jacob and his mom tried to forced the blessing upon Jacob, but they paid a heavy price: a divide was created among all of the family members, Esau was so angry he wanted to kill Jacob, Jacob had to leave the country (and his family) to be safe, and there's is no indication Jacob and his mom ever saw each other again. Lies, deception, manipulation—they forever changed the course of this family, and yet still the covenant lives on through all of this. God honored the blessing Isaac had bestowed upon Jacob.

All of this serves to raise yet another question: Why does God bless a liar and thief? Honestly, I can't say. All I can do is trust in God's ultimate plan and trust in His ability to use people regardless of their actions. How it plays out is often outlandish, staggering, and hopeful all at the same time. After all, if God loved these "founders of our faith" and worked through these sinful people, God can love me and work through me as well. God, use me.

The faith of Abram

From the beginning of Abram's story, we see God's call for him: "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others." (Genesis 12:2) To receive these blessings, Abram was asked to believe preposterous claims; leave his home country, which was virtually unheard of at the time; wait 25 years for the first sign (a son) of the great nation he was to father; and circumcise himself and his household as a sign of his belief. A lot was asked of Abram, so it's no wonder his faith wavered at times. He didn't believe God would protect him when he went to Egypt, so he pretended Sarai was his sister to avoid any conflict with the Egyptians. Of course, some times what you work so hard to avoid, you find. Abram and Sarai's deception led to God taking out his anger on Pharoah (Genesis 12:10-20) and causing the conflict they sought to avoid. Did Abram learn from this about the value of trusting in God? He was human, and thus prone to repeating his mistakes. He used the same deception with King Abimelech of Gerer years later (Genesis 20:1-18). God himself intervened that time to stop the deception.

Abram's faith also wavered as he waited for his great nation to begin. After ten years of trying to have a baby with Sarai, they hatched a plan to circumvent God's plan by having Abram get Sarai's servant Hagar pregnant (Genesis 16). And who could blame them for trying? Taking a slave as a wife was common at the time, and they both were getting older by the day, too old for children (or so they thought). But God delivers on His promises. We just often have a hard time waiting as long we need to for the promises to happen. Abram and Sarai's attempts at creating their own future led to jealousy, disobedience, blame, cruelty, hate, and ultimately to the creation of a nation that would forever live in conflict with Abram's great nation.

And through all of this and more, God stands by Abram and Sarai. He blesses them with new names, a son to start the great nation, and patience through all of their travails. I have no idea why God didn't get angry with Abram and Sarai for their unbelief and disobedient actions, but I'm thankful that the same God who showed patience with them shows patience with me today. I need every once of mercy and grace that I can get. Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me.

How great is our God . . .

God's blessings come in many different ways, from big to small, from seen to unseen. This weekend, I've seen those blessings come in various ways, including:

a start of a family devotional time. We've started to use the book One Year of Dinner Table Devotions to have some family time focused on God, the Bible, and God's plan for us. This is the start of something, and we'll see where it takes us.

a house that still stands. We came home one night to find our outside Christmas lights weren't working. I didn't know why until I took them down yesterday: One of the strands had shorted out and started a small fire that melted the ends of the light strand and the extension cord. Thankfully, the fire didn't spread, and God kept ourselves and our house safe. That is a blessing we didn't see.

the boys got ready this morning without being asked. I know this sounds like hardly a blessing (if one at all), but parents know that some times it's the small things that make the difference. No asking, no pleading, no demanding to get ready all led to a great start to our Sunday.

a weekend of family fun. We've celebrated the beginning of 2009 with lots of fun and work during these four days. Often our attempts at mixing fun and work end in frustration, but not this weekend. We've blessed each other with love and sharing and kindness (for the most part) all weekend. Thank you, God!

Now observations . . .

+ One of Adam's jobs was to name the animals. It's interesting that God already released some control of His creation and gave Adam free reign to do a job as he wished. (Genesis 2:18-20)

+ Men are passive from the beginning as Adam watched Eve interact with the serpent and eat the fruit. (Genesis 3:6)

+ "And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife." (Genesis 3:21) God loved Adam and Eve and cared for them even as he disciplined them.

+ Because man was so sinful, God shortened our lifespans so we would sin less by living less. "My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years." (Genesis 6:3)

+ I can't begin to imagine how Noah and his family felt with the knowledge that: a) the world as they knew it was going to end; b) they were chosen to live and carry on humanity; and c) their friends were all going to die. (Genesis 6–8)

+ Who was Nimrod and what made him so heroic? What did people do in those days to be heroic? He was obviously a hunter, but also a conqueror. Did he conquer other people or just lands? (Genesis 10:8-12)

+ Noah's family populated the earth with people. Abraham's family would populate the earth with believers. (Genesis 10:32)

First questions . . .

I have read Genesis many times throughout my life and know the stories found within pretty well. But apparently, I don't know Genesis as well as I thought. Reading through the beginning of Genesis this week, I find myself asking question after question that I have no answers to. Questions such as:

+ Does the phrase, "God saw that it was good" mean God was pleased with what He had created or does it mean the things He created were inherently good? (Genesis 1)

+ Why did God decide to "separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens"? (Genesis 1:7) "Why not keep everything united and avoid the pain and suffering that lasts until this day?

+ Did all animals have speech and free will as the serpent did (Genesis 3:1) or did satan dwell inside the serpent?

+ Who is "us" in Genesis 3:22 ("Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil.)?

+ Why would it be bad if we lived forever as referred to in Genesis 3:22 ("What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!") Aren't we going to live forever in eternity anyway?

+ Where are Adam and Eve when the Cain kills Abel and God confronts Cain? They seem to be missing. (Genesis 4:9-16)

+ Who was Cain's wife? Was she a sister because only Adam and Eve existed to make children at the time? (Genesis 4:17)

+ What did Enoch do—and how did he live—to have "close fellowship with God" (Genesis 5:22)? What role did God play in their lives at this time? Noah is described in the same way (Genesis 6:9).

+ What is in the world is happening in Genesis 6:4 with the Nephilites?

+ What was the sin that Ham did to Noah by seeing him naked that deserved so dreadful a punishment? (Genesis 9:21-27)

So a lot of questions, but also a lot of concentration on God's Word. This is exactly what I want—time spent reading and thinking about God's words to me. Yes!

Memorize this . . .

"Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at your door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master."
—GENESIS 4:6-7