From Jacob to Joseph, the dysfunction in Abraham’s family really didn’t go away. This daily devotional looks at snapshots of passages in Genesis.
So, life happened today. I haven’t told you yet that Pastor Steve and I feel God is leading us to a new church in which to serve. I was waiting for it to be a little more of a sure thing.
Pastor Steve will be preaching Sunday. I will be leading the music.
Today, things just happened, so I worked for there instead of getting my writing done. So, I am going to do another post from our read-the-Bible-through study.
An Unexpectedly Good Family Reunion
“But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” (Gen. 33: 4 ESV)
How many times do we do that? We are so sure we know how something is going to come down — and we end up not having a clue.
We base our determinations on the old Esau — and the old Jacob. Or we generalize some other experience we have had experience at hand. Maybe worse, we take what we think we have seen happen to someone else and apply it here.
We need to follow God. God said he was bringing Jacob back. Esau was still there. That meant Jacob and Esau were going to have to live together somehow,
We have to have faith that God will change our Esau’s as he changed us.
Father God. You work in our hearts to change us. Help us to believe in that change for all. Amen.
God's Face
“Jacob said, ‘No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me’” (Gen. 33:10 ESV)
Well, this is interesting. Why did Jacob say he has seen the face of God in Esau?
Esau was the one who has been doing everything but following God. Marrying wrong ladies, ignoring his responsibilities as firstborn. He would be the last person that we would think would portray the face of God.
Besides Jacob had already seen the face of God. He wrestled with Him all night (Gen. 32:30). It doesn’t sound like He had Esau’s face.
Maybe Jacob said he saw God’s face because God’s promise was coming true. He wouldn’t have had an easy time coming back if Esau was still vowing to kill him.
Yes, Jacob did lie to Esau about which way he was going (Gen. 33: 14, 17). Maybe old habits die hard.
When God promises us something, when He tells us the way things are going to be, we have to believe.
Father God. We believe in Your promises. Amen.
Satan v. Thou Shalt Not
“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her” (Gen. 34:2 ESV)
Satan knew Jacob was not going to break God’s law of marrying outside of the faith. So, he took matters into his own hand.
Shechem had to have what he wanted. He didn’t care that it wasn’t what Dinah wanted. He took her anyway.
It didn’t turn out so well for Shechem — and his people.
It didn’t matter that it seemed like Shechem was in love with her. The issue was God didn’t want the Israelites to intermarry. That was what Hamor was suggesting.
The sons of Jacob wanted them to become as they were (Gen, 34:15). Hamor was suggesting that they be one one people (Gen. 34:22.
But Hamor was thinking that everything Jacob had would be theirs (Gen, 34:23). That is what Satan thinks he can get — when he deceives us into become one people under the worldview.
We have to obey God.
God. We want to follow Your laws and commandments. Amen.
Why Did Joseph's Brothers Hate Him?
“Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more” (Gen. 37: 5 ESV)
We generally think that the brothers hated Joseph because Jacob loved him more (Gen. 37: 3). Maybe that was all.
I think there was more than that. I think Joseph had an arrogance about him.
If Joseph would have humbly told Jacob — the father who loved him above all others — about his dream, he wouldn’t have been rebuked (Gen. 37: 10).
Joseph was a teenage boy. It sounds like he had been somewhat sheltered. (Why wasn’t he out tending sheep with the brothers instead of just being messenger boy?)
Then Joseph’s world fell apart. He was thrown in a pit, he was sold as a slave, and he was thrown into prison. Those would be hard for an arrogant man to take.
But it was what he needed to change his character. We see how he interacted with the brothers after he recognized them when they came to Egypt. He was a changed man.
God puts lots of pets, hard situations, and prisons in our lifetimes, too. His goal is to change us into the men and women He needs us to be.
God. Work on us so that we are who you need to serve you. Amen.
A Chance Encounter
“And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said. ‘Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ And the man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan” (Gen. 37:15-17 ESV)
Why did Joseph have to meet the man? I don’t think it was just because the brothers weren’t where they were expected to be.
With huge flocks, they had to go where the water was. They had to go with the flow.
Here was Joseph wandering around. He thought he knew what the plan was. But Joseph needed a course correction.
God sometimes needs to give us course corrections. He will put people into our paths to get us right.
We know nothing about the man other than he performed the duty God had for him. He never interacted with Joseph again.
We have to watch for our correcting people.
God. Thank You for keeping us on track. Amen.
When Bad Is Good
“And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison” (Gen. 39:20 ESV)
Where in the world was Romans 8:28 when Joseph needed it? He was not getting the good that was promised.
But really, Joseph did. Romans 8:28 doesn’t promise us that no bad things will happen to us.
It promises that God will use everything that happens to us to further His plan for our lives. That will further His kingdom.
We have to take the good with the bad. We have to determine what God is wanting us to learn in each situation.
Father God. Your promises will always be fulfilled. They will be what is best for us. Amen.
Waiting for Dreams
“After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed …” (Gen. 41: 1 ESV)
Oh, man. It took two whole years for the cupbearer to remember Joseph. Joseph probably didn’t think it would take that long.
Why did God wait? Why didn’t he get Joseph out of prison then?
Unfortunately, God doesn’t work on our timetables. There is the fullness of time thing on which He works.
But it is better God’s way. He knows everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. He knows how this fits in with everything else.
Our mission is to trust God. Period.
Father God. We do trust You in all things. Your way is best. It grows us to be more like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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