Joseph and his brothers, excluding Benjamin, have two different viewpoints. These brothers are afraid vs. 15 that they will get the punishment they deserve for mistreating Joseph. They try to deceive Joseph with a fake letter from their father that his dying wish is for Joseph to forgive them vs. 17. They had a viewpoint only for this world. it's like a vacuum that sucks everything into them. It's all about them. Joseph weeps, I believe because the brothers can't accept his mercy and grace. Joseph also acknowledges that he didn't all of this but God vs. 19. Joseph had a viewpoint from God. It's like standing on top of a high mountain and seeing through powerful binoculars. He was able to see for hundreds of miles in all directions. God showed Joseph that his brothers had to sell him so he can be in Egypt to save many lives vs. 20. He saw this, although it was painful, as good from God. As Joseph climbed higher on God's mountain, spending time with God, he was able to see more clearly God's plan.
Sometimes I see a few police officers on their motorcycles and a long line of cars behind them. It meant someone important has passed away. When Jacob passed away he has greatly honored all throughout Egypt. Even the Egyptians mourned for him for 70 days. Jacob must have had a powerful impact on all these people. His funeral will be one of the biggest anyone has ever seen. We read in vs. 9 that there was a very great company that went to bury Jacob at his desired place, next to Abraham & Isaac in the cave of Machpelah. When people saw the sight I wonder if they were thinking that it was an army to invade them. They had chariots & horses with an enormous amount of people, but it was a very sad march. After the people overcame their fears, they realized it was a funeral. Then the question was who was that person. Once the word got out that it is his lost son Joseph to bury his father Jacob, everyone was talking about this story. I believe their story became a legend.
Jacob has only a few minutes, I believe, before he dies. He is no longer fighting God but fully embracing Him. He has made peace with God, with others, and himself. He has been at times in tune with God but other times, out of tune. It's easy to be distracted and get out of focus with God. Back then he had lots of ideas and there were many tasks to complete. Now, he only has a few minutes, and, I believe, he is fully in tune with God. He can clearly hear the voice of God. He is given words of the future of the 12 tribes of Israel. Some are good but most are bad. he tells his boys exactly as God is speaking to him. Jacob has finally become God's fighter. He has truly become Israel. The two sons that stand out are Judah and Joseph. They are blessed and will bless others. They both are given 5 verses. Vs. 9, Judah is portrayed as a Lion. Later Judah will become the Lion of Judah and the tribe Jesus comes from. Joseph is portrayed in vs. 22 as a plant. It will be fruitful to bless others and will be above all the sons vs. 26. Jacob ends talking to his sons and in vs. 33, "yielded up the ghost." He gladly surrendered to God to finally be with Him.
God was a big part of Jacob's life. God was important to his father, Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham. Back in those days, storytelling was the entertainment whenever grandfather Abraham came to visit. I can imagine Jacob soaking up all the faith journey Abraham went through and throughout all those stories, God was the main focus. Jacob was profoundly impacted by them and he also gained the faith to believe in God. In vs.16, Jacob talks about "the Angel". I believe he is referring to God the Son, Jesus, who he wrestled, and the one who changed his name to Israel. He is called the Redeemer or in Hebrew "GĹŤ-Ä“l" (The God who saves). Jacob sees GĹŤ-Ä“l that saved him and his entire family from the famine. Not just the severe famine but all throughout his life. Jacob sees Joseph being a great part of God's plan of redemption and gives a double portion by blessing Ephraim & Manasseh. Jacob also stops fighting God and simply obeys by giving the firstborn blessing to Ephraim the younger son, but unlike what happened to Esau, gives a great blessing to Manasseh as well.
Where someone is buried is apparently very important. Israel is about to die. He is 147 vs.28 and he is thinking about his grave sit and giving his final blessings to his boys, but of all his sons, he called Joseph. I don't think it was just because he was the most successful and the most powerful among his sons, but I believe, it was because he could trust that Joseph will do as he requested. It is interesting the language Israel used towards Joseph. It's a language reserved for a king or someone in a high position. Israel has witnessed the superior wisdom and abundant grace Joseph has given to his family and everyone in Egypt and Canaan. Israel can see that God has placed Joseph in this high position, and now desires to be buried where Abraham & Isaac are laid to rest in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis,50:13) Joseph was faithful & fulfilled his father's quest. Let's be more like Joseph.
Joseph had great wisdom and understanding of his current times and the times to come. We find in vs. 14 that with all the money he brought in from selling the corn, he brought it directly to Pharaoh's house. He knew that this was not his money and didn't let the love of money even enter his mind. As soon as he received it, he verified the amount and then deposited the money. Pharaoh could totally trust Joseph. Joseph had an excellent spirit. The people in Egypt and Canaan came directly to Joseph because they knew he was in charge but also knew he was fair. Eventually all the Egyptian vs.15-20 sold everything to Joseph: cattle, horses, flocks, land, even themselves. Joseph treated everyone with dignity and not only helped them to live but to thrive. He gave each of them seeds to plant and allowed them to keep 80% of the crop vs.24. This kind of wisdom, I believe, was supernatural and came from God. Also in vs.11&12, Joseph made sure his family was well taken care of. They were protected & didn't have to sell anything. It's amazing that in the worst economic situation God helps everyone under Joseph's care to thrive.
Why was Pharaoh so kind and generous to Joseph's family? It had nothing to do with them, their past, or what they can do for him in the future. Pharaoh even looked past the "abomination" of them being shepherds (Genesis 46:34). Pharaoh sounds like a man that almost died but was saved and he knows that he owes that life to that person. That person is Joseph. Not only was he the only one God used to interpret Pharaoh's dreams but he gave good solid counsel in how to survive the long famine. I don't think Pharaoh knew anything about Joseph until the cupbearer told him. In a desperate time Pharaoh looked past his disgust for a Hebrew and fully entrusted the entire nation into the hands of Joseph. Pharaoh said to Joseph in Genesis 41:39-40, "And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, for as much as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: Only in the throne will I be greater than thou." By the time Pharaoh meets Joseph's father and brothers, all the corn & grain are stored, the famine has been in the land for 2 years. Egypt has fully prepared for this famine, and people are buying from them all over the world causing Egypt to be the most wealthy that it's ever been. Joseph is truly a God send and has saved him and his nation. In Pharaoh's heart he is very pleased with Joseph and will treat Joseph's family very well.
There is a beautiful reunion with Joseph and his father. Joseph was patient and waited on God. He knew that one day, this day would come. He is just happy that his father is alive and they hug & cry for a long time vs.29. God gave Joseph incredible wisdom and understanding. God showed him how the Hebrew can live in peace in a foreign land and yet be very prosperous. He tells his brother to tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds and would like to live in the land of Goshen. I believe it was a land far away from the city where the Egyptians do not want to go. The last part of vs.34 give a clue of why the Hebrews will not be bothered, it says "Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." The Egyptians worshipped the animals like a cow and hated the fact these shepherds ate them & sacrificed the to God. This caused the Hebrews to stay away from the Egyptian religion and their way of life. This also caused the Hebrews to stay together. It's interesting that the things Christians do are unpleasant to the world. That's a blessing to keep us safe and live in freedom for God. God you are truly wise.
The day finally comes when Joseph is truly united to his brothers. All the bitterness, jealousy, anger, and sadness is gone because the brothers have shown Joseph they finally accepted their father's heart. They were willing to protect Benjamin with their lives. Joseph knew they had changed, and he fully forgave them. He shows it by revealing himself vs.1, and tells them to, essentially, forgive themselves for selling Joseph to Egypt because it was all God's plan to save them vs.5-7. He tells them of 5 more years of severe famine vs.6, so they need to hurry and bring everyone back vs.9, especially his father vs.13. Joseph tell them he has already a place for them in the land of Goshen vs.10 where there's plenty of room & lots of food vs.11. Joseph is amazing. He has been preparing a place for the Hebrews where all of them will thrive. They are coming from poverty & empty hands to the very best this world can offer. Imagine what the brothers just experienced. They went from a constant guilt, to thinking they will be life long slaves, to receiving underserved grace from Joseph, to seeing their father filled with joy, to finally living with plenty because of their little brother who they misunderstood but he returned it with God's love vs.15.
The final plan has implemented. Joseph will finally see what the brothers will do if they lose Benjamin. They treated Joseph very badly growing up and even sold him. They didn't want anything to do with Joseph, the favorite child of their father. Joseph will catch them and they will have to give up Benjamin. If they held the same kind of jealousy and anger to Benjamin as they did to Joseph, they will easily figure out a way to let go of Benjamin. Joseph's silver cup plot works beautifully and these men rush back to beg Joseph for mercy. They said that whoever has this cup, let him die and they will become servants vs.9, but once they found it was Benjamin vs.12 they tore their clothes and returned to Joseph vs.13. Judah speaks for everyone and says in vs.16, "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants." Meaning God has revealed their sins and they are guilty. He says they are all Joseph's servants. They would rather become servants than to go back to see their father live in sorrow vs.34. Even though Joseph said for everyone to go back except Benjamin, for these brothers that wasn't an option. They are showing Joseph they are all willing to die for Benjamin. What has changed in these brothers? I believe, they began to understand and accept their father's heart, even if they disagreed with it. For their father he only has 2 sons vs.27. They loved their father and wanted to please him.
These brothers are very afraid because as soon as they met Joseph again, he orders them to be taken to his house. They brought Benjamin just like Joseph told them and even brought back the money that was returned in their sacks. This time they brought more money and gifts for Joseph. They are now standing right in front of Joseph's house, but they don't want to enter. They are afraid of what lies ahead. They plead with the steward vs.19, who is the household manager for Joseph, and tell their side of the story that they didn't steal the money. They don't know if it will help talking with the steward but they are desperate. It's interesting that Joseph was the steward to Potiphar when he first came to Egypt and now he has a trusty steward himself. This steward is most likely the interpreter as well. He probably sees everything that is going on and is wondering how this will all turn out. I don't think he knows they are related to his master, Joseph, but sees the unusual special care Joseph wants him to give these men. He understand there must be a reason his master is hiding his identity to these men. He probably heard the story of Joseph and how he rose from a Hebrew slave to the 2nd in command. He trusted his master and could tell all this was not for evil but for good. He tells these brothers in vs.23 to be at peace, do not fear, and even says the God of the Hebrew has given them hidden treasures. He adds that he believes them because he received their payment when they first came. He could see that his words are not enough so he brings out Simeon to them, and finally they trust the steward to enter Joseph's house. By the way, this huge luxurious house, was probably something these brothers never have seen or experienced. They are use to living in tents. You could sense the great fear and intimidation they must have felt. They knew, they were way out of their league. This steward reminds me of a wedding planner, who is setting up everything for a great event. Everyone will have lots of emotions but this man is just wondering what will happen. He is not sure if it will turn out good or bad, but he trust Joseph, his master, that he has everything all planned out. This steward did what Joseph commanded in Gen. 42:25 to put their money back in their sacks with additional provisions, he comforted them in vs.23, and he places the setting of food exactly as Joseph commanded vs.33-34. He tells these brothers to sit down accordingly from oldest to youngest and give five times the portion to the Benjamin. These brothers are amazed how everything is arranged but surprisingly doesn't complain that Benjamin got 5 times more food. Did these brothers change? Are they not jealous or angry at Benjamin as they were Joseph? It seems like they really cherish Benjamin, their baby brother and now the favorite child to Jacob. Joseph is carefully observing to see if all this is true. He hopes this is true and hopes they pass the test. They finally relaxed and are enjoying the hospitality of Joseph vs.34. For Joseph, it's been a long time since he has seen his brothers this happy. How he longed to have this kind of time back home. I could tell Joseph wants to reveal himself at this meal but he understands he needs to wait on God. Joseph has learned that God's perfect timing is best. The steward is very curious and knows that a special announcement will be made from his master. He will finally see what all of this is about. God has special plans for us too and we too should be like this steward to get everything ready according to how God tells us. Very soon, God will show us what all of these special planning was all about, not for evil, but for good. Let's trust in our loving, holy, righteous God. As it says in Jeremiah 33:3 that God will show us great and hidden things that we don't know about.
When we are in a desperate situation we take desperate measures. Jacob checked the supplies in vs.2 and also saw that this famine continued vs.1. He had no idea this famine will last this long. He's never seen a famine like this, no one has. Even though he didn't want to send Benjamin with his brothers, he realized he had no other choice. I'm sure he was looking for help from his neighbors, friends, family, anyone but nothing was happening. I'm sure he was constantly seeking God but there was no answer. He was confused, sad, angry, but most of all desperate. He's use to controlling his situation, but this is out of his hands. It's interesting in Gen. 42:36 he is Jacob but in Gen. 43:6 he is Israel. Maybe it's because he finally gives in and truly becomes the true Israel - Triumph with God. Judah rises up above all his brothers and says in vs.9 that if anything bad happens to Benjamin, he will bear the blame forever. Israel agrees, but in reality it's because he made peace with God prior to that statement. He says in vs.13, '"if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." He finally gave his children and his life over to God. It's too bad Israel didn't do this without being desperate. He will later learn that God planned all this years in advance.
In vs. 16 Joseph commands these brothers that he will put everyone in prison and allow one of the brothers to get Benjamin. All the brothers have been held for 3 days vs.17 and in that time they had a lot to reflect on. Joseph comes back with another solution, to keep one brother in prison while the rest gets Benjamin. The brother starts to argue in Hebrew specifically about how badly they treated Joseph. What they did 22 years ago is still fresh on their minds. In their minds, Joseph is dead and they admit in vs. 21 that they are to blame. They have no idea that Joseph is very much alive and hearing their conversation. Joseph now understands what happened that day, including how Reuben tried to rescue him vs.22. Maybe the reason Joseph took Simeon as prisoner was that the brothers revealed it was him that planned everything or maybe he didn't show any remorse. Maybe Simeon treated Joseph the worst when growing up. Whatever the reason, I don't think Simeon was chosen randomly. We find later that the northern part of the tribe of Simeon is listed as one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. When the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians in 721 BC, these 10 tribes gradually assimilated by other people and disappeared from history. What we do now has lasting results. It can be good or bad. For Simeon, it was very bad. Gal. 6:7 it says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: For whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap".
When Joseph had the dream about his brothers and even his parents bowing down to him, no one wanted to believe it, but Joseph knew it was from God. These older brothers could not imagine and refuse to believe some day Joseph will be above them. What they don't realize is they helped put Joseph in Egypt. They wanted to destroy Joseph and his dreams - Gen. 37:18. Joseph remembers his two dreams (Gen. 37:7,9) and is seeing it played out right in from of him in vs.6 as his brother are bowing down to him. Eventually all of Joseph's family, including his parents will be under Joseph's care. They will all bow down to him since he is the highest person in Egypt right below Pharaoh. When the brothers bowed down to Joseph they didn't recognized him, but Joseph recognized them. They didn't see Joseph as their little weak brother, but they saw the most powerful man in Egypt, the governor, the only one with the power to sell them food. Even if they did recognize Joseph, their minds would not allow them to believe such a thing could happen. The dreams that God gave to Joseph became a reality but it took many years. It doesn't look like Joseph gave up hope in that dream. It was God's perfect time. God is faithful and we need to trust that God will accomplish it. God might have given you a dream or a vision but they haven't become a reality yet. I will say, I don't believe most dreams or visions are from God, but the ones that are will start to manifest in your life. God will give you confirmations over and over again. I believe, even some of our desires, can be from God. We should pray if they are from God and ask for many confirmations because He will give them to you. We shouldn't be confirmation seekers but God seekers. Just like Joseph, we should be focusing on making sure God is with us and do an excellent job in whatever we do so that way we prosper. It took 13 years for Joseph to become a powerful man in Egypt, but it took an additional 9 more years for the dream God gave him to come true. That's 22 years. It took Abraham and Sarah 25 years for the promised son, Isaac, to be born. Let's be faithful and keep the hope because one day, God's plan for your life will become a reality.
In Hebrew, Earth is Hay-ae-res. This word is usually translated earth such as Gen. 1:1, "the heaven and the earth." In the KJV for vs.56, it says, 'the famine was over all the face of the earth." Many commentators has interpreted this as land and said the famine only affected Egypt and the neighboring cities. In vs.57, it says, "all countries came to Egypt" yet once again, the Hebrew word is actually Hay-ae-res or earth. It's easier for us to accept a regional famine like accepting a regional Noah's flood. It's easier to accept that the world was made over millions or billions of years, but let's move pass what we want to believe and believe what God's words says. I believe the famine affected the whole world. No one was prepared for this except the country of Egypt, as far as we know. It's very possible that Joseph bought provisions from other countries to prepare for this severe famine. If that was the case, people probably didn't know why Joseph was buying so much during the plenty. Since the supply was so great, the price was at an all time low. He bought low and later sold it high. I could imagine a bidding war when countries came to buy from Joseph. Egypt became extremely wealthy nation, all because of Joseph. I'm sure Pharaoh was very happy and even happier that Joseph, who had the "Spirit of God", was handling everything. God prepared Joseph, not only to save his people, but to save the entire world. That is one of the reasons, Joseph is like Jesus, the savior of the world. I pray God will prepare us to help the world for what is to come.
Additional notes:
I believe, the most important thing anyone must do before they did is being right with God. That means making sure you are saved and that's only through faith in Jesus Christ as it states in John 3:16. The second most important thing to prepare for, in my opinion, is marriage. When you think about all the choices, the one that will have the most ramification after salvation is marriage. I believe, when you think thoroughly about his, you will also conclude, marriage is very very important. Let me explain it this way. When I was 17 years old, 1 year after I was saved, I remember our youth pastor drawing a line then a dot. He explained that the line represented eternity and explained the dot represented out life on earth. Showing us the line opened our eyes to see why eternity was so important and why we need to really think about where we will be after we die. Then he explained about the dot. He asked how long people usually lived. We gave many answers but he made a good point that none of us knows when we will die, but God knows. He then drew a line that represented the timeline for that dot and gave it 100 years. He then asked when people will usually get married. With many answers, we came to a consensus that 25 to 30 would be when most people will get married. He then put a percentage of when we are single compared to when we are married, assuming we are married to one person the whole time. That meant we are single for 25% to 30% and married 70% to 75%. That was one of the biggest revelation in my life. I realized the importance of marriage, especially to be married to one spouse for the rest of our lives. After that day, I told myself to start praying for my future wife. I started to pray for my wife from 17 until I met my wife at 23. In that 6 years, God gave me wisdom to not only pray for my wife but also to read and listen to many resources on marriage, especially parenting. I remember reading lot of magazines and book on parenting. I also remember listening to a show called "Parent Talk" with Dr. Randy Carlson on the Christian radio. Any kind of scripture that talked about marriage, parenting, or family, I would make sure to mediate on it. Even after all that preparation, I didn't feel ready for marriage when I got married on January 6, 1996, but I was thankful to God for that preparation time. Fast forward, by the grace of God, my wife, Ellen, and I have been married for almost 25 years and have 4 beautiful and wonderful kids ranging from 14 to 23. God is very Good.
God made Joseph, who most people thought was a nobody, into a somebody that everyone had to honor. Joseph in one day, maybe within one hour, became the most powerful man in Egypt, the major superpower at the time. Pharaoh had a problem because no one was able to interpret his dreams vs.8. In Daniel 2:12, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream but he was furious that none of the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans could not interpret his dreams, so he was going to kill all of them. Daniel and his friends saved them all when God gave the answer vs.19. Most likely Pharaoh was getting very angry because in vs.8, none of the magicians and wise men couldn't tell him the meaning of his dream. He knew it was important. If something didn't happen quick, people sensed, he will unleash his wrath. That's when the butler remembered Joseph. It was the perfect time. Joseph said to Pharaoh in vs.16, "It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." When Joseph interpreted the dreams, Pharaoh saw clearly Joseph had more wisdom than anyone he ever met and also saw in him the "Spirit of God" vs.38. Pharaoh said with confidence that Joseph will be right below him and rule of the land of Egypt vs.41. Only God can make this perfect scenario. Joseph was at the right place at the right time. We too have to be ready like Joseph, because one day, God will put us in the right place, right time, and in His perfect plan.
Joseph is best known as the interpreter of dreams. It's interesting that he didn't interpret his own dreams, but both his parents and brothers knew what it meant. His dreams in Gen. 37:7,9 didn't give specific times in the future but everyone knew those dreams meant Joseph will rule over them one day. At first, the father rebukes Joseph, but then in vs.11, we see Jacob "observed the saying". Joseph hears the butler and the baker's dreams. He didn't say in vs.8, that he's the interpreter but said "do not interpretations belong to God?" These dreams, I believe, came from God, so the author of the dreams would be the best interpreters. In Acts 2:17, the bible says in the last days young men will see visions and old men shall dream dreams. I don't believe most dreams are from God so we need to be extra careful in the importance of them. The bible also warns us in Jer. 29:8 about false prophets and diviners deceiving people with their dreams. Dreams and visions are to be handled with extreme caution. Ecclesiastes 5:7 says when dreams increase there is vanity, but God is the one we must fear. We need to see them through the fear of God so He will get all the glory. Joseph, I believe, looked at dreams not through his eyes or opinions but looked to God. He spoke the interpretation that God gave him, whether is was good or bad. He was not afraid to speak to people what God showed him. Joseph also didn't use his gift for any personal gains. He gave his gift totally to God and gave Him the credit as he kept telling people "do not interpretations belong to God?" We should all give our talents and gifts with the same attitude as Joseph and give God all the glory.
Even though Joseph was sold by his brothers to these salve traders of the Ishmaelites, God was with him. When God is in your life, He will bless you and those around you, even when it is not in your favor. First, the odds of these traders selling Joseph to Potiphar is amazing. Not only that, but Potiphar is the captain of the guards to Pharaoh vs.1. That means he has close contact with the most powerful man at the time. It was the perfect place, to the perfect people, at the perfect time. Since we know this story, let's walk this back. How does Joseph become second in command? He has to meet the cup bearer in prison. Not just any prison, but the king's prison vs.19. How does that happen? Joseph gets thrown that prison because he is falsely accused, which I believed Potiphar knew deep inside that his wife was lying, and put him in the king's prison. That prison, I believe, is only meant for those serving the king. Potiphar didn't have to put Joseph in the king's prison, but it was part of God's plan. Then we move earlier to Potiphar buying Joseph out of all the other prisons. Joseph quickly earned Potiphar's trust and raised him up to the top servant. God was in control and he gave extraordinary wisdom and favor on Joseph. That 13 years in Egypt before being second in command was important. As God is preparing us, we have to be faithful during this time. God is with us.
This chapter seems out of place but it is important because we find Pharez in the lineage of Jesus (Matt. 1:3). Pharez is the son Judah and Tamar. Pharez means breach, because he was suppose to come out second but somehow overcame his brother during the delivery that he came out first vs.28-29. When I think of the word breach, I see a broken contract. Someone or something breached the agreement so it is no longer valid or in another words, the old contract is broken to make a new contract. Judah is not the first born but it is Reuben. We find that Reuben committed a great sin by sleeping with his father's concubine, Bilhah (Gen. 35:22). Simeon and Levi are the 2nd and 3rd sons, the next in line, but they committed an awful horrific sin of slaughtering all the men in Shechem (Gen. 34). All of those acts were evil in the sight of God. Judah was the forth son and God honored him, and I believe was given the first born status. In Rev. 5:5, Judah is described as the Lion of Judah and the root of David. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was split. The northern kingdom kept the name Israel and the southern kingdom was named Judah. Interestingly, the kingdom of Israel had mostly bad ungodly kings and the kingdom of Judah had mostly good God fearing kings. Jesus will eventually come out of the line of Judah to be the one true eternal King to save the world.
I wonder if Jacob knew if it wasn't an animal that killed Joseph. Jacob is a smart man and have been around animals long enough to see and feel the difference in animal blood compared to human blood. I say that because in vs.33 he said an "evil beast" devoured him. He knew animals are moved by instinct. I think he knew it was the brothers that did this. It was obvious that they hated Joseph and Jacob knew they had the ability and the motivation to kill him. For Jacob, it didn't matter because his favorite son, in his mind, is dead. He was never the same after this. Even if Jacob knew it was his sons that killed Joseph, he didn't want anymore blood shed. He lost someone very special to him. When Jacob heard the impossible that Joseph was alive (Gen. 45:37), the bible says, his spirit was revived. Later on, Jacob will understand from Joseph, this was all part of God's plan (Gen. 50:20) "to save much people alive". I'm not sure why God didn't tell Jacob beforehand that Joseph was alive, but that also must have been part of God's plan. In Isaiah 55:8, God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord". God has already planned the best way, so let's trust in His perfect plan.
We often think that all the brothers wanted to kill Joseph but we find here Reuben didn't. Reuben was the oldest and the first born from Leah. I'm sure he didn't like Joseph for all the same reasons but it wasn't to a point of killing someone. We read in Gen. 24:25 that Simeon and Levi were listed specifically. Most likely because they were the the ones leading the massacre of all the men in Shechem. It looks like the other brothers came after the killing to collect the spoils vs.27. Even after Jacob rebuked these two vs.30, it doesn't look like they repented vs.31. I have a feeling it was Simeon and Levi that thought of the idea of killing Joseph and rallied all the brothers to follow. It's interesting that Joseph took Simeon prisoner in exchange for them to bring Benjamin (Gen. 42:24). I wonder if he knew. Maybe it was mainly Simeon's idea to kill Joseph. If it was, Simeon probably was reflecting on those evil deeds and hopefully repenting. It's sad that Reuben was not able to save Joseph and he will live with that regret for many years. This is why correction early on is so important.
Why did the brothers hate Joseph so much to the point of taking his life? Did Joseph do anything to them that was so bad that he deserved death or was it something else? I don't believe Benjamin is here. He is most likely with is father. Joseph did bring evil reports about their evil deeds (vs. 2) but that wasn't Joseph, but their evil acts. Jacob had every right to check on them because they destroyed the city of Shechem all because of revenge (Gen. 34). They were angry at the messenger, Joseph, for getting caught. Joseph was the favorite son, but they mad at him because they are jealous. Joseph had dreams from God that shows them bowing down to him. Those were not Joseph's imagination, but God's prophetic visions, yet they wanted to kill him because they saw this as Joseph bragging. It wasn't. Joseph was only telling God's dreams. They didn't deal with their anger, jealousy, and pride. It kept growing and it mastered them as it did Cain (Gen. 4:7). Instead, we are to follow God's greatest commandment as Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39 - Love God and Love others.
We are a cause and effect kind of people. Most of us hold to the value of an eye for an eye. Jacob had 12 sons and 1 daughter. That' a very big family, but what made it worst, was Joseph was his favorite. He didn't hide it. He made a coat of many colors for Joseph vs. 3. Imagine their jealousy, anger, sadness, and lack of love. This will become a costly mistake, but even in this, God will use it all for a greater purpose. Parenting is hard enough, but when you bring favoritism to the mix, it start to destroy the family. Many people will naturally be drawn to someone they like. Many times that's how we choose a spouse or friends, but it that the best way? I heard President Trump intentionally chooses people that are different than him, with different views and values. Some of these people he doesn't even like, but I find wisdom in that approach. A team of people should have any different types of individuals with different gifts, experiences, and knowledge. Above all, we should submit ourselves to God and his wisdom. In Proverbs 9:11-12, it says, God's wisdom will benefit us and give us long life.
God blessed Jacob and Esau. They became extremely rich. Too rich to hold both of them in the same land of Canaan. It's interesting that Esau decides to move out instead of forcing his brother. Most likely it's because Esau has a lot of his business already done in Mount Seir. We read in Gene. 33:16, that Esau returned to Seir after his friendly meeting with Jacob. Both Jacob and Esau knew they had a supernatural blessing from God because those blessing were given to them. For Jacob, he received the first born blessing from Isaac (Gen. 27:28-29). God also blessed him many time and even before he was born (Gen. 25:23). Esau blessed by Isaac in Gen. 27:39-40 "Thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth. And of the dew of heaven from above". Then it goes on to say he will serve Jacob until he has dominion and break that curse. It looks like in vs. 6, it is broken and both will continue to prosper. Esau will be the father of the powerful Edomites, with Dukes (Chiefs) and Kings. God blesses even the nonbelievers.
Extended: Mount Seir means Land of their possession. Canaan means land of promise. Luke 16:25 talks about losing your soul because of the pleasures of this world or temporarily suffering in this world for eternity with God.
Before Isaac and Rebekah sent Jacob to Laban. Isaac was thinking he would die soon after. He was blind and he wanted to give the first born blessing because in his mind, he didn't have much time. Now over twenty years have past and it appears Isaac has out lived his wife. He is now very old but before he dies, it looks like in vs. 27, he gets to meet Jacob again. I'm sure Jacob is even surprised. It was a great comfort to Jacob because Rachel died from having Benjamin. We don't know how many months or years Jacob got to spend time with his father, but it must have been special. Isaac finally dies at 180 vs. 28, that's 5 years more than Abraham. Then we see a beautiful picture of a reconciled relationship with Jacob and Esau as they bury their father. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith - Heb. 12:2. In Acts 3:15, Jesus is called the author of life. In Col. 1:17, it states Jesus is before all things and holds everything together. In Ps. 139:16, it states, all of our days are ordained and written in God's book. God knows the past, present, but most importantly the future. God's knows when we will die, so we don't have to fear death, instead let's live for God.
God is a generous and merciful God. He is the God of second chances. In vs.1, God speaks to Jacob even though he and his family made a terrible mistake. Peter went to Jesus in Matt 18:21-22 and asked how many times we should forgive someone. Jesus answer 70 times 7. Those numbers are symbolic and represents completeness. It means there's no limit to the forgiveness of God and we should not have limits too. Jacob realizes this significance and decides to change his ways and commands his family to change. He wants the entire family to be right before God by putting away strange gods - anything that we are worshipping other than God. Then he says to clean, like a baptism. He wants them to be clean inside and out. Then he tells them to change their clothes. We are to wear new clean clothes that will also please God. This is the correct action of being forgiven. Anyone coming to Jesus to receive His forgiveness and salvation must also become clean inside and out. The old has gone and the new has come, because we become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). We put on a new clothes of righteousness (Job 29:14) and also we put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18).
Sometimes after a great victory there can be a great defeat. Jacob wrestled with God, Jesus, and was told in 32:28 that Jacob has overcome both man and God. His name was changed to Israel, God's fighter. He faced Esau and his 400 men and it was a peaceful meeting. Esau and his men went back to Seir and Jacob was heading home. Here's the beginning where a big mistake happens. He came to Shalem vs. 33:18, but pitched his tent before the city. This scene seems almost the same as when Lot looked on the city of Sodom and Gomorrah and decided to live there - Gen. 13:11. This is not consulting with God, but just simply following what seemed like a logical thing to do. It was pleasing to the eyes. Unfortunately, they were both Lot and Jacob, it was a major mistake. Jacob's sons deceives the city and while they city was weak because the men were just circumcised, Simeon and Levi killed all the men. This was not pleasing to God Jacob let down his guard and looked away from God after his victory, which was all God by the way, and regret following his own ways.
Jacob, meaning deceiver, has an encounter with God that he will never forget. He is left alone after sending everyone ahead of him and vs..24, right away is wrestling with a man. Who is this man? We read in vs.28, this man said of Himself that He is God. In vs. 30, Jacob also acknowledged it was God, but said he saw God face to face yet still survived. We know it can't be God the Father because God told Moses in Exodus 33:20 that no man can see God and live. We know it can't be the Holy Spirit because in John 14:17 it says, we can't see Him but we will know when He is in us when we are saved. Since this man is God, we are only left with one choice and that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Only God had the power to give such a wonderful name to Jacob. He changed it to Israel meaning God's fighter. It's amazing that Jesus would allow Israel to win but Jesus also touched Israel's hip socket so it was put out of joint. Israel will never be the same and will have to rely on God instead of his wit and strength. He will have to be God's fighter and be totally dependent on God.
Imagine if one of the richest man, who is also your boss, came to you and told you to leave his company because you are too great for the company. Seems unlikely but it can happen. Most likely they will see you as a threat and fire you. These same individuals start their own company and ,sure enough, becomes much greater than their previous boss. God had a special plan for Isaac and even though he lied to Abimelech about his wife being his sister, God was still able to work with him. Abimelech understood Isaac's fear and knew the men would have killed him for his wife. Once he made a decree that no one was to touch Isaac or Rebekah, God opened the flood gates of blessings. Isaac became very rich and became a great man vs.13 and this didn't sit well with the Philistine people vs.14. They tried different ways to discourage Isaac like filling the wells with dirt, but Isaac still prospered. Abimelech had to finally swallow his pride and tell Isaac to leave his land because he is mightier than them. Isaac and his descendants will become Israel and God continues to bless them today.
Jacob is humbled when he remembers that 20 years prior, he had nothing. He kept going holding on to God's words spoken to him found in Gen. 28:12-15. God told him in vs. 14 that "Thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth" and goes onto to say, "thy see shall all the families of the earth be blessed". This great promised was kept in Jacob's heart and he never forgot it. He is now extremely wealthy and has an unusually large family. Once he hears that Esau is coming to meet him with 3400 men vs.6, his fear turns to a desperate plea for God's help. Jacob reminds God of His promise that "I will deal well with thee" vs.9 if Jacob goes back to his country. Jacob acknowledges that God kept His promise vs.10 even when he went to Laban empty handed. Then he gives an honest prayer that he is afraid of Esau and asked to be delivered. He finish his prayer by reminding God again of His promise in vs.12 "I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea". Jacob is delivered and God keeps His promises. When we pray, we should also speak God's words to remind Him and remind us that God is always faithful. Let's keep God's words in our hearts.
Even though Laban was a wicked man, he was still Jacob's father-in-law and his uncle. In Ex. 20:12, one of the 10 commandments, God say "Honor your father and mother" and goes on to say "that thy days may be prolonged". There is something special when you see children respecting their parents. It's an important bond hat should be happening in all families, especially in a Christian home. Sadly, I don't see much of this in our current world. In 1 Peter 5:5 it says "Likewise ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder". It goes on to say "be clothed with humility" then give us a powerful statement, "for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble". Although Jacob wanted to rebuke his uncle every time he was cheated, he humbled himself and submitted to his elder. The bible doesn't say we must respect our elders only when they deserve it. Honestly, do anyone of us deserve respect from others? Do we deserve God's mercy and grace? God was pleased with Jacob of how he showed respect toward others, especially the elders. This was a painful lesson he learned in the past because he saw the costly negative effect it had when he cheated his brother and father.
Jacob has been holding these words of rebuke to his uncle Laban for 20 years vs.41. He held up his end of the agreement by serving Laban 14 years for Rachel and Leah and another 6 years for the cattle. Laban was a very wicked man who changed Jacob's wage 10 times vs.41. Jacob held his tongue out of respect for his mother but he was angry and sad because of how Laban treated him. He received confirmation when Rachel and Leah told him that their own father Laban treated them as foreigners, spending all of their money, and leaving no inheritance. Jacob had the strongest confirmation when God told him to leave vs.3. Jacob must have realize that Laban would catch up and bring a small army to kill him and take everything back, but he had confidence, since God spoke to him and God will take care of everything. Jacob did the right thing of waiting on God to act. He prepared everything but didn't go until God said so. There will be Labans in our lives but they will all be overcome if we follow God and His ways.
God protects His people. The only way God's people will get hurt is if God allows it and that means He has a greater purpose for that. God will bring terror on those that are about to cause harm on those that loves Him. Pharaoh and Abimelech wouldn't dare touch Abraham because God spoke to them and they were terrified that God will destroy them. I'm sure they were shocked that God is real. They are use to fake gods or idols that easily controls people but, I believe, these leaders saw beyond the lie. That wasn't the case when they met the One True God. They knew God gave them mercy but didn't have to. Laban realized with great fear that the One True God is protecting Jacob. He wants to teach Jacob a lesson and kill him in front of his family, but he is deadly afraid of God. He understands he needs to treat Jacob correctly and let him go along with everything he has. If not, Laban knows he will lose everything. Just like David defeated the giant who defiled God, we need to stand strong knowing God will also use us to strike fear in the lawless ungodly people. We are called to defeat giants all over the world.
In these two verses we get more details of how wicked Laban was. His two daughters are poorly treated by their father. We don't read anything about the mother. I wonder if she passed away or if he divorced her. It wouldn't surprise me if he put her to death because he didn't think she was doing he job as a wife, more like a slave. Back then, it was a sad time for a women because they were not looked with much value and the men could do practically anything to them and get away with it. Laban used his daughters to enslave Jacob. He took all their inheritance and their dowry. That was not suppose to happen because that money belonged to Rachel and Leah. He didn't care for them and even treated them like strangers. No wonder these sisters were craving the love and attention from Jacob. he treated them special and with worth. God also looks at us and say all of us are made in the image of God. He sees great value in all of us and showed it by dying for us - John 3:16.
It's interesting that God blesses an accident but to God babies are not accidents. Sarai believed in the future promises of God, but doubted how God could do it through her. It's understandable because she is in her mid 70's then. That led to helping God by thinking of a creative plan which involved her servant Hagar. God doesn't need us to think of a better plan when He has the best plan. Abram agreeing with her was another mistake. When things don't go the way we planned it, we quickly throw it away. If it was God's plan, we don't or should not do that. Sarai quickly abandons Hagar and the baby but once again God care for them. God cares for the whole world, He send an angel to comfort Hagar, to give her direction to go back to Abram and Sarai, and give her a great promise similar to Abram. God knows all the mistake that is happening everywhere is for all of us to gi e us a great gift of eternal life in heaven.
What do you do when you made an agreement with someone but that person doesn't do his part? This happens often when someone borrows money from his friends or family but the borrower never pays it back. It's also interesting that the borrower is always lacking money. He seems to never have enough to pay back the loan. Unfortunately because there wasn't a legal contract that the borrow takes advantage of those situation and doesn't care if he loses friends and family. Laban was successful in keeping Jacob by agreeing to his terms vs.34, but that same day Laban breaks it. he goes out and removes all the cattle and goats that would have belong to Jacob. He tells his sons to take them away. Laban wasn't a shrewd business man but a corrupt one. He probably is known as a crooked person to do business with and has a very bad reputation. Jacob understands this too, yet he trust God. Jacob goes to work like other days and takes care of Laban's flock. Then God gives wisdom and unnatural blessings to help him become very rich vs.43. We too should trust in God because he will bless us. Another note is to not be in a partnership with those who are crooked.
14 years has passed and Jacob wants to go back home. He has two wives, two concubines, 12 kids, but no wealth for himself. He has worked all those years for Leah and Rachel. Even though he didn't have riches in terms of money. He was rich in family and blessing from God. He had no doubt that God will provide, plus he had great wealth back home. The big issue was his brother Esau. Even though he may be killed by Esau, he didn't want to stay and live his life only making his uncle's families rich. Once Laban found out, he could see all of his wealth that Jacob built waste away. I believe the reason why Laban's cattle was very little vs.30 is because they were use to living beyond their means. Laban's sons were probably carelessly spending money while Jacob was hard at work. God will change all that by rewarding Jacob. God gave Jacob the conviction to stay and to help build wealth for himself and his family. He will still have to face Esau but God will help him with that as well. God always provides.
When a married couple are unable to have children no matter what they do, it is one of the most painful events of their lives. Sometimes I pray for my brother who has tried for many years to have kids with his wife without success. My wife and I are blessed to have four. There must be a deep sorrow such as what Rachel felt. She is the one that is loved by Jacob. She has the looks and the body that Jacob desired, but that wasn't enough to have a baby. She is so frustrated and sad after her older sister already has 4 kids that she demands from Jacob vs.1, "Give me children, or else I die". Jacob understands this is beyond his control and that power belongs to God. Interestingly in vs.2, he understood her not having a baby was not about her physical body but it was withheld from her. You can see each child dedicated to God and thanking Him by their names. After 10 boys and 1 girl, it appears Rachel has given up on having kids. She probably has a sadness that is quiet but very painful. She has accepted the possibility that she may not have kids. Maybe she make peace with God. Maybe she prayed, "God, your will be done. If you don't give me a child, I will still praise you". Then God answered in his perfect timing to give Rachel, Joseph, a very special child.
My favorite uncle, uncle Frank, said to me, become so needed for a job that companies will be calling you. That's exactly what he did. He had, I believe, 3 different engineering degrees, lots of experience, and was considered one of the top person for many different types of jobs. He was working past 70 and when he retired, he was still getting job offers. Jacob came to Laban's house and worked there for a month. He made such a strong positive impression that Laban realized that he needs to offer Jacob a job or he will lose him to someone else. Jacob was a hard worker but also thought of ways to increase production. I have no doubt that he found better more efficient ways to do the same work. People were noticing and Laban knew he had a very special person. Laban was successful in keeping Jacob for 20 years, but it was through deception. By the way, Jacob is not a young man, but that doesn't stop him from doing amazing things for God. God will greatly bless Jacob and he will pass his wisdom to Joseph.
Extended:
Jacob was 84 when he came to Laban. 94 when he had Joseph. 130 when he met Joseph in Egypt.
There's a lot of running for Laban's family. When Rachel heard that Jacob was the son of her aunt Rebekah, she didn't hesitate and ran quickly to fin her father. I'm not sure if Rachel knew anything about her aunt but since she knows Jacob is a close family, she finds a way to help him. Laban remembers how rich Isaac's family was when Abraham's servant came to take Rebekah. At that time, there were lots of camels and servants and lots of gifts given to them. Laban sees an opportunity to not only help family but to gain additional wealth. He runs and quickly brings Jacob back to his home. Even if Laban's motive is not pure, he does show great hospitality. Jacob, in one day, finds his uncle's family, a place to stay, food, and sees his future wife. God was with Jacob as he was with Abraham's servant. God told Jacob in Gen 28:15 that he will be with Jacob wherever he goes. God also tells us, Christians, in Heb. 13:5 "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."
Jacob has a great encounter with God. As he is dreaming in vs. 12, God shows him a stairway to heaven where God is on top and the angels are going up and down on it. What an amazing picture but what does this mean? God is showing Jacob that one day we will have access to God just like these angels through that stairway. We find in John 1:51, that Jesus is that stairway and through Him we have access to God. This is why we are able to communicate with God. Jacob decided that he will voluntarily give God 10% or title. Later when God gives the laws, He commands His people to give 10% for the maintenance of the Levites (Lev. 27:30, Num. 18:21). For today, that will be tot he local church. Most people don't realize this, but we are to give more than that. It was meant for the Israelites but we can apply it to our lives as well. Another 10% is for the Lord's Feast (Deut. 14:22) given during that celebration. Then there is another 10% that was given every third year (Deut. 14:28-29). This money was kept at the house to feed Levites and the poor. The Levites today, will be anyone serving God, in my opinion. A consistent Israelite would have given 23 1/3% on the average annually. This shows me that we can be doing much more to build u the Kingdom of God.
One son obeys and another son disobeys. Isaac, which means laughter, is no longer laughing. He and Rebekah knows that they have a major family problem and to keep the peace they have to separate their twins. Sometimes loves means to let go. For Rebekah, this will be the last time she will see her precious son Jacob. He quickly obeys his parents and leaves his family and friends to a place he doesn't know. He will have to adjust and some how survive in the house of Laban, his mother's brother. He will learn first hand how painful deception can be when it's done on him. Esau, on the other hand, is filled with jealousy and vengeance. He wants to do something that will hurt his parents so he marries a Canaanite woman. He goes to Ishmael, who he knows his father doesn't get a long with, and marries his daughter. What a sad way to live. Esau could have comforted his parents and chose to be a better son, but instead, only looked at his needs. Loving others as yourself is one of the keys to a successful Christina life.
I believe Esau didn't care much for Jacob as they were growing up. It seems they lived differently and had completely opposite interest. Now that Esau realizes the blessing was given to Jacob and how his brother did it, he hated Jacob to the point of one day killing him. When this news reached Rebekah and Isaac, it must have broke their hearts. How can they see their own kids fight and kill? They knew that Esau could easily kill Jacob so they had to move quickly to save the family. Once Rebekah sends Jacob to her brother's house, her next mission was to keep Isaac alive as long as possible. She found out Esau will kill Jacob after Isaac died. She really did a great job of prolonging her husband's life because he died many years later at 180 Gen. 35:27. God is the One that kept Isaac alive for so long because He wasn't done with him. In the commentary, Isaac was 137 when he blessed Jacob. That's 43 years of thinking and rethinking about this deception and anger. That time was good for both Jacob and Esau. Jacob was very sorry that he deceived Esau and asked for forgiveness when they met 20 years later. Esau forgave Jacob. God's plans are always perfect.
Isaac is shocked that he blessed Jacob instead of Esau, but something tells me he wasn't ignorant to the possibility that this might happen. There's a saying that the man is the head but a woman is the neck. His wife Rebekah was a very clever woman and knew her husband very well. We read in Gen. 25:23 God told her of the future of her twins and the older will serve the younger. From this time on she always held on to this prophecy. We read in Gen. 25:34 that Esau sold his firth born birthright to Jacob and I'm sure she knew about that too. We read in Gen. 26:35 that Isaac and Rebekah were sadden that Esau married two Hittite women, something Abraham didn't want for his family. Isaac might have been blind but he was very aware of his family's situation. At the end, God's prophecy was fulfilled. Vs. 29 shows that the blessing Isaac gave to Jacob was essentially that he will rule over his brother. This was probably a relief to Isaac because that blessing will not be wasted. Rebekah's plan worked but at the end of the day, it was God's plan.
There can b e major problems in the home when parents show favoritism. We read in Gen. 25:28 that Isaac loved Esau but Rebekah loved Jacob. It's important to love your children and to value their uniqueness, but to clearly love one child over the other is a problem. This story has another twist because God tells Rebekah in Gen. 25:23 that the older will serve the younger. We now pick up the story where Isaac is old, almost blind, and wants to bless his oldest and favorite son Esau. It's hard not to feel sorry for Esau but all this is playing out according to God's plan. Jacob doesn't want to take part in deceiving his father vs.11-12 but his mom figured everything out vs.13 and goes further by stating let any kind of curse be on her if the plan fails. You can see that Rebekah clearly loved Jacob but is doing it deceptively. As we read later in Genesis, Rebekah's brother Laban was much worst in his deceptions. We can conclude, she learned that deceptive tactics from her family. God doesn't want us to show favoritism and he doesn't want us to be deceptive.
What do you do when there is a conflict in a business matter? Isaac was given extra ordinary wisdom and blessings from God in a time of famine. He was in a hostile environment where people were not happy with him. He was in their land of Gerar but he was protected by the King's decree. It seems like they all had similar professions of agriculture but also digging wells was a big thing. Whenever there was a conflict over a well, Isaac simply walked away and move further. The well of Esek means contention and the other well call Sitnah means enmity. You can tell by the names the situation was not good to eventually saying these people have become my enemies. They keep traveling and digs another well and calls it Rehoboth meaning plenty of room. Finally these Philistines stop harassing Isaac and they feel comfortable that there is a great space between them to prosper. God's wisdom for Isaac was to keep the peace and this is what we need to do in a business conflict. God will give us a Rehoboth and greatly bless us.
Imagine if one of the richest man, who is also your boss, came to you and told you to leave his company because you are too great for the company. Seems unlikely but it can happen. Most likely they will see you as a threat and fire you. These same individuals start their own company and ,sure enough, becomes much greater than their previous boss. God had a special plan for Isaac and even though he lied to Abimelech about his wife being his sister, God was still able to work with him. Abimelech understood Isaac's fear and knew the men would have killed him for his wife. Once he made a decree that no one was to touch Isaac or Rebekah, God opened the flood gates of blessings. Isaac became very rich and became a great man vs.13 and this didn't sit well with the Philistine people vs.14. They tried different ways to discourage Isaac like filling the wells with dirt, but Isaac still prospered. Abimelech had to finally swallow his pride and tell Isaac to leave his land because he is mightier than them. Isaac and his descendants will become Israel and God continues to bless them today.
Isaac had a special blessing from God and a lot of it had to do with his father Abraham. it's almost like a life insurance policy but the provider is God. Abraham kept contributing to it by his walk of faith, but since God was so pleased with the way Abraham followed God's command, statues and laws (vs.5) that God poured in extra contributions. When Abraham passed away, that policy was now activated and dispersed to Isaac. The blessing are incredible. The biggest blessing in vs.3 is God will be with him and He will personally bless Isaac. The God of the universe, the maker of everything, the Alpha and Omega, giving care and attention to this man is amazing. That's how pleased he was with Abraham and God will be pleased with us if we follow God like Abraham. God tells Isaac that he and his descendants will be given countries, they will greatly multiply, and they will bless the nations. God is still blessing the nation of Israel. God is also blessing all those adopted into His family by Jesus. We have become His children now carrying a heavenly life insurance. Our lives matter and it can be a great blessing for those that come after us.
There are times people have no idea they have a valuable item and either sells it dirt cheap or give it away. There was a man that sold a plain looking pottery for 50 cents but the person that bought it looked into his purchase. He discovered some writing on the bottom and had it appraised and discovered this small vase was worth millions because it was so rare. Esau and Jacob are twins but since Esau came out first, he was the first born. He knew he was the oldest by seconds but he didn't think much of it, in fact in vs. 34 it states he despised his birthright. Jacob on the other knew how valuable this birthright was. They were told of the Abrahamic covenant but Esau didn't care and lacked faith. He didn't care much for the future but only the here and now. Jacob not only understood this but desired it. Some may think what Jacob was doing was wrong but he bought something worth billions or much more for pennies because the seller didn't see a need for it. We also have a special gift of salvation that we must never to sell.
What do you do when something is wrong and you need answers? This short story of Isaac's wife Rebekah unable to conceived is good example. Once he recognized the problem, he went right to God. He knew God knows all and also can provide all. He was ready to follow God's command. The bible says in vs.21, Isaac "intreated" the Lord for his wife. Intreated means to ask earnestly or beg. It was a focused time uninterrupted humbly praying to God expecting an answer, any answer. If God told him to go see a specific doctor many miles away in a strange land, he was willing and desperate to do anything for his wife. In tis situation god answers by providing and his wife was able to conceived. In vs.21, it says "The Lord was intreated to him", in this section it "intreated" means, God heard and answered. As we read further, God had a special plan for Rebekah's twin boys. In vs.23, God says there are two nations in Rebekah's womb. That's a language of already knowing who they are and what they will become. God is all eternal beyond time. Whenever we have a problem, let's be like Isaac going to God for answers.
God truly blessed Abraham, especially for his physical health. He started his journey with God at 75. That's when most people are thinking of dying and heaven but for Abraham, it was just the beginning. His immediate family was only he and Sarah. It wasn't until 25 years later, he had one special child, but how could he be a father to Isaac at 100. God had other plans for him, in fact, Abraham was able to be a father to Isaac for 75 years. God also blessed Abraham with 6 more kids with his new wife, after Sarah died. That's 7 kids that most thought wouldn't have one. I think people were constantly amazed at the things God was doing for Abraham. Age is just a number. God can strengthen our bodies to accomplish anything for Him. Abraham is a good example that anything is possible with God.
The relationship between a mother and her children is a powerful bond. These kids have heard their mom all throughout conception to birth. They have been comforted inside their mom and fed. When the mom truly wants the baby and keeps telling the child, still in the womb, how much they are loved, I believed, that child already is beginning a successful life. When the child's mother passes away, you can image the extreme anguish they feel and this is what Isaac felt. He stayed at his mother's tent or close by it, to properly mourn for her. He was remembering all that Sarah did for him and others. He knew he had to let her go but it took some time for him and that was okay. She was a very special person for him. This wasn't days of sadness but celebrating her life on earth, and rejoicing that one day he will join her in heaven. It was a great comfort for Isaac to know how God provided in finding his wife Rebekah. In vs.67, Isaac took Rebekah into his mother's tent and was married. He was able to be at peace of his mother's death and love his wife.
The moment when a man ask his potential wife if she will accept him as her husband, it is filled with suspense and can lead to great joy or great embarrassment. For the sake of Rebekah, she only had the stories of this servant and seeing all the wealth that was given to them. Rebekah has no idea about Isaac, in fact, the servant didn't talk about Isaac, but he did talk about Abraham. Rebekah's family, including her, didn't ask any questions about Isaac, but what they did say is telling about their faith. In vs.50, it says, "Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, the thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good." Then they gave their blessing for the marriage. There was probably a million things going through Rebekah's mind, but she became obedient to God and the family. You could tell she is a strong woman with a strong faith in God when all eyes were on her to decide to leave right away. She said with confidence "I will go" or in another words, she chose right then, no matter what, she will marry Isaac because she trusted in God.
How do you pray to God for direction? Abraham was a man of faith and that life rubbed off on those close to him, especially those working with him. His oldest servant vs.2 saw the good and bad of his master but it seems he was most impressed of the God Abraham served. This servant saw so many answered prayers from Abraham, he too picked up hos to communicate with God. He started with faith and went vs.10 then he saw an opportunity. So he prayed before acting. he prays specifically of a woman that will give him a drink of water and will also give water to the camels. There's no doubt that he could have done that or made his servants do it, but this was to see how God would answer. This is not testing God but rather to confirm God's will. This is not just a random thought but since he was seeking God throughout this trip along with Abraham's intercessory prayers, this may have been an inspirational thought given from God. We read further in vs.15-27 how God answered and this servant is overjoyed that Abraham's prayer is being answered.
What is the greatest thing that a parent wants for their kids? Most will say for them is to be successful, but what does that mean? It's different for many but it's usually wealth, long healthy life, or to be famous in a good way. Abraham just lost his wife and is very old and his health is declining vs.1. He is thinking about life after death but his mind is also thinking about what is the best thing he can give to his son Isaac. He has come to the conclusion that Isaac has to marry well and that marriage will continue the legacy of faithfully following God. It's like a house that keeps improving and expanding throughout generations. Abraham knew a spouse can turn away someone's total worship for God. Let's hear the warning in 1 Kings 11:4 "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."
Sarah lived for a long time and eventually died at 127 years old. It's very sad when we no longer see people here on earth, but there is relief knowing those born again believers are in heaven and even a greater joy that we will be reunited with them since we are also saved. Although Abraham was very rich, I don't believe he owned land, homes, or building, instead he lived in tents. Seems like an unusual way to live yet it was how he believed. He chose to live like a "stranger and a sojourner" because as it says in Hebrews 11:16 "they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefor God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Abraham realized that his body will one day die and will no longer be able to live in this world but his soul, who he really is, will live forever. He understood that he is just passing through in this world and one day, he and his wife will be in heaven where God has made a city for them. For Abraham, he saw Sarah already there, so it wasn't a good bye but see you later. We should all have this mindset.
My mom told me a funny story when I was younger. It was about a little frog that always disobeyed his mother. Whatever the mom asked him to do, he would do the opposite. One day, right before she died, she told the little frog that she was dying and asked to be buried by the ocean, right next to the water, thinking that he will do the opposite and bury her in the mountain. When she died, the little frog was so sad, and thought of all the times he disobeyed his mom, so he decided to grant her request. Later he found out she meant just the opposite and he cried for the rest of his life. How pleasing it is for a parent to have kids that obeys. It the same for God, but sadly, very few obey God. This is why when He sees the one out of the millions, He finds that person very special and rewards them. Because God is so pleased with Abraham, He says "All the nations of the earth" will be blessed. This is a big reason for us to bless Israel. God goes on to say "because thou hast obeyed my voice" the more". The more we listen to God, the more we hear Him. The more we follow His voice, the more clearer His voice will be.
This verse is confusing because it seems like God is tempting Abraham. If this is the case, we have to ask, why is God doing something that another place in James 1:13 says God doesn't tempt anyone. Let's unpack this. James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man". If God is not tempting, than it's another word and that words is test. Sounds similar but very different. Temptation is designed for someone to fall and for destruction, but testing is to build up and leads to life. 1 Peter 1:6-7 talks about how through "trial of your faith" or testing will be more precious than gold because it's "tried" tested with fire and be found "praise and honour and glory" when Jesus appears. When Abraham passed this test, that seemed unusual at the time, God told him in vs.12 "Now I know that thou fearest God". This was a foreshadow of what God will do to His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, but He doesn't stop the torture and death of Jesus because it was His ultimate love gift to us. God passed His test of love for us, not it's our turn.
God is making Abraham a great and powerful nation and other people are recognizing it. We don't read just how wealthy Abraham was, but we do know that he had an army of about 300 well trained servants. We don't know their names but we already saw them defeat great armies when they rescued Lot. we also know that God is looking after Abraham and everything he has. People might be calling God the God of Abraham at this time. I think the word is getting out of all the things God has done for His faithful servant, but when people hear that Abraham and his wife at 90, had a son, they knew that was a miracle only God and can't say it was a coincidence. Abimelech brings his top general to make a peace covenant with Abraham because they are afraid of the God of Abraham. They want this agreement to last forever vs.23 because they believed God will keep His promise. As we faithfully follow God, He will also reward us and protect us and bring fear to others trying to hurt us.
It is a blessing to know that God will bless you. God tells Abraham several times and even Hagar that Ismael will be made into a great nation. Abraham is sad that he has to let go of Ishmael but fully trust that God will take care of them. With this simple faith Abraham rose up early in the morning vs.14 and surprisingly only gave them bread and water. It must have been a sad moment for everyone. For Abraham, he knew Isaac is the Promised son that will become nations blessed by God. He is just obeying God and understands God wants these two sons to be separated. If Abraham would've forced his will and kept both sons, something terrible might've happen. For Hagar, she doesn't know God and trust him like Abraham. She is afraid and is thinking about death. For Ishmael, he is now 14 years old, but feels lost and rejected. He loses all will to live and starts crying out to God. Then God, The Comforter, El Shadai, cared for them. He tells Hagar that He heard Ishmael, Abraham's son. In a sense, we are like Ishmael that is not the promised child, but because of the saving grace of Jesus, God allowed us to be made adopted children of God.
This is an amazing verse and often times passed over. Back in Gen. 18:10, God tells Abraham, "I will certainly return unto the according to the time of life, and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son". God views Abraham and Sarah as special people to Him, even though they are His created being. Especially Abraham, really pleased God. This is why Abraham had a special title associated with God - The God of Abraham. The faith that Abraham and Sarah had to hold onto God's promise for 25 years is impossible for most people. I get frustrated if God is not giving me an answer within a week. If it passes a month, I get discouraged and eventually forget about if after a year. God knows our hearts and knows how far our faith in Him will go. Abraham grew to a strong trusting in God no matter what happens faith. I pray my faith will also grow to that. As promised, God of heaven and earth, came to these faithful servant to see Isaac, the promised son being born. God has made another promised that Jesus will take all true believers to heaven before the tribulation. It will happen just liek all of His promises.
We read here of an unusual conversation with God and Abimelech, who is not a follower of God. He might believe in many gods including the only True God. This man asked God if he will destroy a righteous nation, but his view of righteousness, I believe, is different from what God calls righteousness. God called lot a righteous person only because he believed in one God and followed Him, not well, but still believed in God the creator. Abimelech is probably looking at righteousness as more good deeds and bad deeds. God still has mercy on him and that nation, but corrects his understanding by telling him in vs.7 if he doesn't return Sarah to Abraham, then everyone in his nation will die. He realizes the True God is not his God and his view of a righteous nation is wrong. Hopefully he changes and throw away all other fake gods and only follows the True God, but sadly, I don't think that happened. What Abraham did was wrong but was forgiven, he and his household remained righteous because they believed and followed God, the Alpha and Omega. I will also try to follow God like Abraham and not like Abimelech.
When something tragic happens, like a car accident, people have different reactions. Some could look at the event and look at all the cost such as the amount of money to repair or to buy another car. Some can look at all the hassles of dealing with doctors, insurance, or even an attorney. Some will immediately ask how the people are doing and thank God that they survived. Lot and his daughters survived by God's grace and Abraham's prayers, but it looks like he is fearful and hopeless. He just lost his wife, all the people in Sodom and Gomorrah died, the whole city is ruin, his wealth gone, and his position and influence no more. He just received a second chance but the only thing he is doing is looking back at the past. His spirit and mind are like what happened to his wife physically, it has turned to a pillar of salt. He doesn't care anymore. His daughters take advantage of this situation and does whatever they please to have the evil nations, the Moabites and Ammonites, through him. I'm not sure if Lot ever recovered, but what a sad sight.
This is a strange verse because we find that Lot's two daughters are married, but in vs.8, Lot points out that his daughters have not known man. I don't think lot was lying, but why are the daughters living with them when they are married? Maybe Lot was protecting his kids from all the evil in the city, maybe the men the girls married had other wives, or maybe God spoke to Lot to keep his daughters for a period of time. Whatever the reason, his daughters survived. He tries to bring his sons in law, but they mocked him. How sad it is for a lukewarm compromising believers. They have no power in their witness. Lot's whole family is lingering vs.15, as if they don't realize the danger they are in. They want to hold onto what they have or had in Sodom, that it's too hard to let go. Eventually Lot's wife, who is not mentioned by name, can't resist what she left behind and looks back. She then turns to a pillar of salt vs.26. I'm not sure if God's words were read at Lot's home, but what was practiced is things of this world.
God sees and hears everyone and everything. Someone or something is Sodom is crying out to God. It's possible that the rocks were crying out because they saw such wickedness. In Luke 19:40, Jesus says, "If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out". For the rocks to cry out, that means it's very bad. Sin grows and become more evil. This city allowed sin to get out of hand and infected everyone. It's interesting Lot was out of the city and sitting by the wall vs.1. He became a high official, most likely because everyone else was too busy with their sinful life. He believed in God, but wasn't effective in his witness. I wonder what kept him and his family there. I don't think it was God. God's angels sees clearly this out of control sin when all the men surrounded Lot's house wanting to have sex with them. The unnatural mindset to become gay or lesbian started with a little sin allowed to fully flourished. Eventually sin will go beyond that to death to others and self. Eventually Lot escaped this place but it seems the sins of Sodom plagued his life going forward.
We see in these verses Abraham praying for the righteous people in the evil city of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is interceding for others, or in another words praying for others. Praying for God is great but it needs to be prayers that will be heard or more importantly that God wants to hear. We read in vs.17-19, God highly favored Abraham and wanted to hear from him. Vs.18 says that Abraham will be a "great and mighty nation" and vs.19 says "he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord". Abraham's voice mattered because of his faith in God in the present and who he will be in the future. Abraham also had a realistic view of himself compared to God. he says in vs.27, that he is only "dust and ashes". He knows that he is only a created being and God is the One that has blessed him and given him a high position, yet he sees the urgency to pray, especially for Lot, who he loves. In the midst of this prayer Abraham pleads with God to also save the city if only 10 righteous were found. God amazingly agrees and honors that request. I pray to be like Abraham and humbly intercede for others.
When God speaks we need to listen and obey. That's what made Abraham and Sarah different. Abraham obeyed without complaining or trying to figure it out. He trusted God and that gave him the faith to follow whatever God wanted him to do even if it didn't make sense. Sarah is like most of us. She complicates God's words by reasoning in her mind what God meant. That's the reason Ishmael was born. Strangely she quickly throws him away when Isaac is born. She knows Ishmael was her mistake yet, blames it all on Abraham. Abraham on the other hand embraces Ishmael and never forgets about him. Sarah once again can't look past her physical limitations so she laughs mocking God and implying His promise is impossible and will never happen in her mind. She has stubbornly given up but when confronted by God, she denies even saying that. That was a big mistake and she knew it. God corrected her and also corrected her mindset. She then had great faith. In Heb. 11:11, Sarah is commended for her faith in God to receive the strength to conceive.
Following God is total trusting in a reliable experienced guide to get us to that destination. Whether it's getting married or buying a house, God will provide at the perfect time in the perfect way. Abraham was 75 when he was promised by God that his wife Sarah will have a baby. Abraham took the first step of faith and left the comforts of his family and friends to a place he didn't know. He kept following God and great blessings followed but what he wanted more than anything didn't come yet. 24 years later at the age of 99 God tells him again of the promised son but now it's seems absolutely impossible for the human mind of Abraham, so he laughs in vs.17. He laughs because it's now physically impossible for his wife at 89. God show himself as the God who does the impossible and we just have to follow. Abraham does believe and also ask God to bless Ishmael, which God does. Vs.21 is very comforting because God tells Abraham his son Isaac will be born the following year. Abraham can finally count the days. He will be 100 and his wife 90, but that doesn't matter because with God all things are possible.
God made an unconditional promise to Abraham that he will be the father of nations. Today we see the Israelites from the line of Jacob and the Edomites from the line of Esau. Both were children Isaac who was the only child born from Sarah. God also made Abraham the chosen people and brought Jesus through the line of the Israelites to save the world. This great promise was something God wanted all of Abraham's children to remember so God instituted circumcision. Later we read in Deut. 30:16 that "God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live". God's desire for all of us is to live a life of faith following Him and not the world. Paul talks about the ultimate circumcision that Jesus did for us to give us eternal life found in Col. 2:13-14, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross".
Almighty God is Hebrew is El Shaddai. El means strong one and Shaddai means a woman's breast. God is the nourisher and the strength giver according to my study bible. God is the strength giver and satisfier of His people. What a comfort we have knowing God is like this. As He spoke to Abraham then, God is saying that to us today. We can find true rest in Him. He will protect us from all our enemies. He will provide all that we need. He will change us to become more perfect as we walk before Him. He will even change our identity like He did to Abram who became Abraham. That's very encouraging because often times we can't see the person God made us to be except how we see ourselves now. This promise was give to Abraham at 99 years old when people are dying. We might feel we defeated and hopeless. We might have limitations we feel too strong to overcome. We might simply say to ourselves "I'm useless. I'm not special". God says he is El Shaddai and will begin a good work in you (Rom. 8:28)
It's interesting that God blesses an accident but to God babies are not accidents. Sarai believed in the future promises of God, but doubted how God could do it through her. It's understandable because she is in her mid 70's then. That led to helping God by thinking of a creative plan which involved her servant Hagar. God doesn't need us to think of a better plan when He has the best plan. Abram agreeing with her was another mistake. When things don't go the way we planned it, we quickly throw it away. If it was God's plan, we don't or should not do that. Sarai quickly abandons Hagar and the baby but once again God care for them. God cares for the whole world, He send an angel to comfort Hagar, to give her direction to go back to Abram and Sarai, and give her a great promise similar to Abram. God knows all the mistake that is happening everywhere is for all of us to gi e us a great gift of eternal life in heaven.
God is the possessor of heaven and earth. God reminds Abram in vs.7 that he will inherit the land of Canaan. It's a great blessing to have kids but when God is also giving you land, it's even better. The next verses are strange but necessary for God to show Abram the future. It all starts with a simple question from Abram in vs.8 basically asking God "how will I know?" After following God's instruction a horror of great darkness fell upon Abram vs.12. God tells him about a future event where his descendants becomes slaves for 400 years. That's a terrible thought but we find out all this is true. The Israelites in Egypt have become slaves even though Joseph helped them to survive as a nation. Then in vs.14, God tells Abram that God will judge that evil nation and will rescue them. They will even come out very wealthy like back pay. God uses Moses for that. God is in full control.
What do you do when you are so discouraged about a promise from God is not coming true? You might think that you didn't hear from God correctly. Maybe you might doubt that you heard God at all. It can be discouraging but God timing is perfect. He is not a second too fast or too late. Abram is discouraged even when God tells him vs.1 that God is his shield and his exceeding great reward. Abram is old and he looks at himself and is thinking it's impossible for he and his old wife to have a baby. God helps Abram look up and look beyond to a time many years in the future to see hundreds of millions of people born in his family. What a great encouragement that all the number of stars are the same number for his line. It changed Abram's view on life going forward. He realized his actions now will affect all of these people. Through Isaac came Esau and Jacob. They had tons of kids and today it might be many millions all over the world. We can apply this by trusting in God and His promises. He never breaks it. Let's look up and look beyond. God is our great reward.
El Elyon in Hebrew means Most High God and the priest of the Most High God, Melchizedek also tells Abram God is the possessor of heaven and earth. He goes on to confirm that El Elyon is the one that won the battle for Abram. Abram's response is another reason why he is the father of faith. He gives 10% of everything. El Elyon is always at work and He owns it all. We should always thank Him for everything we have because truly He is the One that graciously gave it to us. I believe he wants to give much more but we need to constantly, with our thoughts and actions, give back to God. I heard of a man that wanted to give God more than 10% so he decided to give 20% and God blessed Him. God blessed him so much that this man was giving 90% of whatever God gave him and it was a lot. How great is God? He is El Elyon, the Most High God.
It's interesting that this verse says Lot is Abram's brother. When Abram's real brother, Haran and father of Lot, died, I think it must have been very hard on him. Maybe they were very close and whenever Abram is thinking of Lot, it reminds him of that brother. It's also interesting that the person that escaped in vs.13, went to Abram. It seems like Abram was known and the people in Sodom knew that this simple man, Abram, could help. Maybe Lot gave a message to this man to get this terrible news to his uncle. What follows is an amazing rescue that only God can accomplish. Abram and his 318 men were out numbered compared to a combined army of 4 kings. If we take a conservative number of 40,000, it's impossible that this great army lost. We do the possible so God can do the impossible. Sadly, even when Lot was rescued, he stayed with the people of Sodom.
When God speaks, do you take immediate action? If we have a hard time hearing from God, then we need to read His word in the bible and that bible, in my opinion is the KJV (King James Version). As we read the living words of God, the Holy Spirit will inspire us as He inspired the people that wrote God's Holy words. They were fearful, and rightly so, that they wrote exactly what God told them. After reading the bible, I believe, God will speak to you. What will be your response? God is looking for a simple person that will do what He says. Abram was that person. When God spoke, he listened, then he did it without hesitation or complaints. If we are in the army, our commanding officer will give an order expecting obedience. He gives the orders because a general gave them. The general is given those orders by his commander in chief. There's order and in God's army there's order. When He speaks, let's take action.
We see here in these verses that Lot separated from Abram. Even though Abram had good intention of bringing his nephew, he should have asked God. It seems, in my opinion, that Lot was not to join Abram. In a short period of time, they separated but not before a disagreement. Lot is much younger and was given much of his wealth, I believe, from Abram, yet he doesn't apologize to his uncle, but it is the elder Abram that goes to Lot to make things right. To Lot's credit, he is know in 2 Peter 2:7-8 as a just man and even a righteous person. It didn't mean he made good choices but when it came down to keeping his faith in God, that never waivered. Abram did an amazing thing, very unusual for the culture at the time. Instead of demanding Lot to leave and forcing him to go a certain way, he gave his nephew a choice. We read in other verses how much he cared for Lot. He even risk his life and his men of about 300 just to rescue Lot. You can see why God chose Abram. He wasn't perfect but still a good example to us all.
Abraham is known to be an example of faith but not in these verses. He and his family left Canaan, the place God promised, and instead of asking God to provide, he took his family to Egypt because of a famine. When something happens in our lives and we don't see how to feed our family or to keep the house because we lost our job, we get desperate. That's when our faith is tested. Abram makes a silly deal with his wife that ultimately puts his wife in danger. Some could argue that nothing bad happened to Sarai and they ended up extremely rich, but at what cost? His wife lost trust in her husband and he became a bad example as a follower of God to the Egyptians. I wonder what would've happened if Abram followed God. My personal thoughts, are God would've led Abram to Egypt and God would've shown His powers like He did through Moses. The fear of God would've been on that nation and Abram would've left with greater riches and represented God correctly.
A great promise was given to Abram that God will give the land of Canaan vs.5 to his descendants. What a great gift. All the land, thousands of acre, worth lots of money, God was going to give to this man with a simple faith. Right after that promise, Abram builds an altar to God. I think that's a wonderful thing to do whenever God give a great promise. It honors and pleases God, but it also reminds us of that promise. This altar can be very fancy but the one Abram built was probably very simple. It could have been some rock stacked up like the ones we see when Jacob built an altar to God. There God showed Jacob the stairway to heaven. Abram understands the significance to this promise and thanks God. I also believe God can give us any land in this world because He made it and owns it all. Eventually Abram becomes Abraham and his people are still here today as the Jewish people in Israel. We are also faith children scattered everywhere because Abraham is the father of faith.
Names are significant. It doesn't mean you will be that person regarding the meaning of the name, but it does show why parent's will give a certain named for their child. Nahor is the father of Terah, which means wanderer. It's possible Nahor didn't have a home then. Terah has three sons, one of which is the famous Abraham. Abram means high or exalted father. Maybe Terah thought Abram will have lots of kids or someone that will be a leader to many people. Either way, Terah thought Abram was special. Nahor means snorting. I know Terah wanted to honor his father with that name, but that's such a strange name. Haran means parched. Maybe Terah's family was going through a famine when they had Haran. Then Haran had Lot, which means covering. Haran dies early and maybe when he had Lot, he was weak and knew he would need Lot to cover his family. Abram became Abraham, a name God gave him which means, father of multitudes. Abraham does become that as he becomes the father of faith - all those that put their faith in God.
It' truly amazing what people can do. Since we are made in the image of God, we were given intelligence to take care of all of God's creation, including each other. We have made so many advancements yet, I'm surprised in the year 202, that we are not all driving flying cars or have medical advancements to live to 200. Maybe these and many other inventions are being stopped by God. It's interesting that God came down to see this city and tower of Babel. The people had one language and working together to make this one city. This was the one world government. The people building this probably thought how wonderful it is that finally everyone is working together for one goal, but what was that goal? In vs.4 it states this tower was suppose to reach the heaven. The people didn't want to worship God but wanted to be God. God saw how dangerous this one world government will be so He confused their language to spare them of His wrath. In George Orwell's book 1984, he gives us a the scary picture when the government has ultimate power to control people in everything they hear, say, and do. It's a sad picture where robots are more like humans and humans are more like robots.
A generation of families can have some good people and some bad. Every family tree is different buy there seems to be a difference when a family fears God and follows Him instead of our own ways. When a nation have everyone wanting their way verses others, the one who wins will be the person who is the most powerful. Then everyone is subject to his rules. People will think they are free but only if they don't break the rules. God knows exactly what kind of government that kind of nation would be when He stated in Gen. 8:21 "...for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth". Eventually a group of people will be so fed up with this person's rule that they will figure out a way to topple his regime. Then the ring leader will bring his new rules until someone else topples him. It's an endless cycle, but if a nation puts God first, they will have a government built on the principles of God's words, the bible.
We hear Noah for the first time and it's only in vs.25-27. Even though he didn't speak much, what he says has a profound impact for the rest of humanity. It's hard to understand why such a curse was given to Ham, but Noah doesn't mention his name but instead uses the name Canaan. I believe this was a prophecy spoken by Noah but the words were inspired by God. That would make sense since God knows the future. Just like He saw the line of Cain, He also sees a godless nation coming out of Ham. If Ham was like Cain, he wasn't thinking about the things of God, but mainly for himself. The Canaanites are cursed to be the servants of Shem the Semites and Japheth. God is blessing both Shema and Japheth, but looks like Shem is getting the bigger blessing. When we look at the verses through the eyes of God, it's easier for us to understand. God is perfect because He knows everything and knows everyone's thoughts and motives. We are called to be more like Noah in this wicked world, humbly walking daily with God.
The rainbow is a beautiful gift from God that was given to us after the flood. It's amazing that the rainbow has so many colors and we can find it anywhere after it rains. God's promise to us in vs.15 is He will not destroy the earth with a flood. That's good news for all of us because no matter what we do to prepare for that, we will not survive it. It's interesting that the rainbow comes after rain. We should thank God for the gift but, we should also thank God that the rain stopped. We should remember why God sent the flood and look at our lives to see if we need to correct things not pleasing to God. Satan has made the rainbow a different symbol of gay pride. That's what he does to the precious things in life. He perverts it and changes the meaning. Too many are listening to Satan including some of the church. What does God want us to do in this strange upside world? I believe we need to look up and see that God is in control. We need to see the rainbow as God's love for us and that He's given us salvation. He's reminding us the true believers will live forever in heaven.
Steak, pork chops, fried chicken, and a good hamburger are all thanks to God allowing us to eat it. God told Adam and Eve to eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables in Gen. 1:29. We were not to kill animals to eat before the flood. It's very possible that all the animals were also vegetarians. If no ones eating each other, the world would be very safe. Maybe one of the reasons God was angry was people were killing animals to eat. Here in vs.3, God tells Noah that they are able to eat meat. In vs.2, God says all the animals will have fear towards man and it make sense since we can hunt them. Maybe one of the reason is after the flood, there 's not much vegetation to eat. Either way, I thank God He gave us permission. God does go on to talk about not eating blood because as it says in vs.4, the life is in the blood. What I believe it's saying is don't eat it if it is still alive. This is why we have to draw the blood out and fully cook it. It is also much more healthy. Thank God for meat.
You can see in these verse that God was very sad of all the destruction from the flood He sent. I'm sure if there was another way, He would have done it. We don't read about all the things God did to change the wicked acts of people but we do read that the line of Seth worshipped God. Eventually even they were compromising. It must have been sad and angry that only Noah walked with God. We read in vs.20, Noah offered burnt offering to God and it comforted God to smelled the sweet savour. Then in the following verses, God gives a promise to Noah, but it applies to all of us. He says, He will not again curse the ground and will not smite anymore everything living (vs.21) and while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease (vs.22). What an amazing promise, even though God knows "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth". God will bring judgement again as we read in Revelation, so we must be right with God.
The flood was a major global catastrophe. Everything was covered in water and it only took 150 days to do that. God could have done that much faster but 150 days to caused the highest mountains to be covered stills show how powerful God is. Within minutes, this world became different, making new mountains and making new great canyons like the grand canyon. Scientist, very intelligent people, cannot take what the bible says and instead says it took millions or billions of years. Even when the evidence was so clear when Mt. Saint Helen's volcanic explosion made a mini grand canyon within hours if not minutes. Some of these scientist, I believe, are forced to hold this evolutionary view and if they don't, some of them won't have a job, even though the evidence is so clear. It's a good thing God stopped the waters from the deep and from the above, because the world would have been worst. If He didn't think about all those in the ark, no one would even be alive to talk about it. We should be strong and free to hold on to what the bible says about he flood, because it happened.
Some times we are so amazed at the destruction of Noah's flood that we forget why this flood came. We read vs.21-23 that all land animals and people died except Noah and his family and the animals in the ark. When we are reminded of the flood, we should have a wake up call that what God says, he will do. We should look at all things that we are doing and ask God if He is pleased with them. We can easily find what pleases Him or not by reading the bible. We read in Heb. 11 that faith pleases Him. It is given by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:5), it is in Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15), it leads to salvation (Heb. 11:6), works by love (1 Cor. 13), without works is dead (James 2:17), produces peace, joy, hope in believing (Rom. 5:1), overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), and a shield of the Christians (Eph. 6:16). Faith was what God was looking for back then and He fond Noah. Faith is what He is looking for now. Will you be like Noah that has this faith NOW?
Some of the sci-fi movies explore what needs to happen when this world is no longer habitable. They are all very interesting and intelligent. The Disney movie "Wall-E" was one of those. In that movie, they had this massive ship with all the people remaining. I didn't see anything else except people and robots. No animals and no plants. They waited in space until he earth was able to grow vegetation. It's obvious the movie was simple and brings more questions than answers, but at least they tried. God would tell them - He already did it. God's way is the best. Notice God designed the large ship for land animals and people . Plants, insects, and marine animals were not included, because they will survive this flood. We don't know what it was like prior to the flood but there's much evidence that this world was very different. Recently viewing the video seminars by Dr. Ken Hovind, there's ample evidence dinosaurs came on the ark and come are still alive today. God brought 2 of every kinds to later make all variations. Some of us have a hard time with this but look at all the variations of people from just Adam and Eve. The clean animals were the only exception. God said in vs.12 to bring 7 each (10 are listed in Exodus so 70 total). They were needed for sacrifices.
The word "pitch" in this verse is means "atonement" in Lev. 17:11. As my study bible states "It is atonement that keeps out the waters of judgement and makes the believer's position in Christ safe and blessed." That's very comforting. We, the true believers, will not go through the judgement. We will be like Enoch who was taken up into heaven before it happens. We are already covered with atonement within and without, not because we are good, but only because we accepted Jesus as our savior. Noah represents those Jewish people who believe in Jesus after the rapture. They will make it through that terrible persecution during the last days without rejecting Christ. They will be greatly rewarded. At the end, just like after God let Noah and his family off the ark, all the true believers will see a brand new earth where God's kingdom, His throne, God, and Jesus will be with us. Until that time, we need to make sure we have plenty of pitch inside us and outside us to stay atoned and that can only be done by Jesus.
God was angry but as you reread these verses leading up to the flood, I believe, God is more sad. He had great plans for people. He was disappointed in Adam and Eve. he was heart broken when Cain killed Abel even after He gave him solid counsel. He had delight when Seth had his son Enos because they began to call on the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26). But we read in vs.2, about intermarriage between sons of God (Seth's line) and daughters of men (Cain's line - unbelievers). This was the beginning of the down fall of people infecting everyone on earth except Noah. Isaiah 1:4 give a good description of what happened to these sons of God "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward." This led to extreme wickedness to a heart always thinking of evil. It can take years, maybe hundreds of years to make a beautiful house, but it can be destroyed in one day. This is why we have to always check for sin in our lives and get rid of it.
We don't know much of Enoch in these verses but we see clearly he was different. The most important is he walked with God. It's possible that others walked with God, but his must have been different. His life might have been one of talking with God all the time. He probably obeyed God in anything and everything God told him. Enoch also had a son, Methuselah, that was the oldest in the bible before he died at 969. Methuselah's son Lamech had Noah. Enoch must have had a strong family unit devoted to God. You can see the reflection of Enoch in the life of Noah. At a young age of 365, young at the time, God took him to heaven. Enoch didn't die. I believe, the only other person that God took to heaven without dying is Elijah (2 Kings 2:1). God saw something in Enoch that impressed Him. In fact, when you read Heb. 11:5 we read that Enoch's testimony was he "pleased God". Then in vs.6 we read a treasure in the bible, "but without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Let's be like Enoch who pleased God by his faith and kept seeking God all his life.
One of the things I noticed in these verses is we don't see the names Cain and Abel. We read in Gen. 5:1 "This is the book of the generations of Adam." It's like we are reading another book and it is focused on people, in the line of Seth. That's an important point because Jesus comes from this line. Notice also Seth is in the likeness and image of Adam and not God. Seems to me more of a negative implying a downward spiral. But there's hope found in Gen. 4:26. After Seth had Enos, it states "then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.." One question people ask is how did Cain find his wife? Well Adam was 130 when he had Seth. That's many years where lots of kids will be born. In vs.4, it states Adam and Eve had sons and daughters. That can be an extreme amount of kids in a span of 930 years. Also, the fact Adam and Eve were fully grown when created plus God's blessings of having kids, the world was quickly being populated. The last important note is Adam died as well as Eve. Even though they lived very long, there was an end. That was the price for sin. I'm sure as they lived for many many years, they saw all the damages of sin.
A name is very important. They should have a purpose to that name. When Adam and Eve had their first son, they must have been excited thinking about all the good he will do in this world. They probably were thinking he might be the savior of the world. They named him Cain which means "Acquired" in Hebrew. They might have said - we have acquired the promised seed from God regarding Gen. 3:15, unfortunately, their sins were passed down to Cain and he lived up to that name by acquiring his own desires. It seems in the beginning, he was trying to somehow follow God by the name he gave his kids. his son Enoch means "Teacher". Unfortunately, the city Cain made wasn't named after God, but his son Enoch. For a few generations, it seems they had acknowledgement of God because their names ended with El to honor God's name Elohim. Then things got worst. Lamech, which means "to make low" in Hebrew, instead made himself high and married Adah which means "pleasure" and Zillah which means "hide". Another meaning of Lamech is "conqueror". This conquering pleasure seeker becomes the evil "daughters of men" found in Gen. 6:2. They ultimately brought so much sin in the world, that God destroys the whole earth with the flood.
Everyone who is murdered is not forgotten by God. Their blood cries out to God and God answers. God will avenge them. We don't know how much time passed from vs.7 to vs.8, but we know Cain's anger grew to premediated murder. The more he looked inward, the more he blamed Abel for his wretched condition. I believe Cain was angry at this parents for not supporting him. Maybe he was expecting them to go to God o help God see it Cain's way. I think he was angry at God for making a rule for sacrifice of sin. The more Cain thought about it, the more he felt he was right. He probably reasoned that killing his brother was right. You can hear it in vs.9. He is not sorry. The only time he is repenting is when God gives him his curse. Even then he is only thinking about the harm he will receive. I see the danger of following ourselves instead of God. We are putting ourselves above God and ultimately we worship ourselves. it's so strange to think that the created being is not giving glory to the maker, but that's what we see everywhere. Let's remember God made us and given us life. Let's turn to God and put Him first.
This is the tale of two brothers, but if you look carefully, they represent two kinds of people: Following self or Following God. Eve was so happy for the first born son Cain and said "I have gotten a man from the Lord." vs. 1. Maybe she was thinking Cain will be the one to defeat Satan. Like most siblings, these two were very different. Cain was a farmer while Abel, his younger brother, became a shepherd. The offerings to God tells where their hearts were at. Abel found the very best of his flock and brought that as a sacrifice to God. He wanted to please God and his eyes were focused on God. Cain brought his offering from the land, but he was thinking about himself. God sees the heart and knew their true intentions. Just because God was not pleased with Cain's offering, Cain took offense to it. He was angry and down. Even when God personally consoles him, Cain gets even more angry. God knows what will happen next and gives a warning that Cain doesn't follow. God say sin is at Cain's door and desires to have him.
It's very interesting to see the reactions after God pronounced the curses. We see Adam finally giving a name to his wife. I'm not sure if "woman" was the first name but that meaning is - taken out of man. He sees a new greater purpose for his wife from the promise God gave to her in Gen. 3:15. He grabs onto those words that a man will be born from her line that will defeat this wicked Satan that separated them from God. He knew all of the human race would come from her and he called her Eve meaning - the mother of all living. That's encouraging for all of us. We are all meant to be alive in God. That is done by Jesus. God wanted to still help people but he had to cover their shame. He had to sacrifice an animal, most likely in my opinion, a lamb, and made clothes from it. It was very sad for Adam and Eve to see a helpless and beautiful animal die for them. I think, at first, it caused them to sin less because that horrible image would be greater than committing additional sins. It must have been painful for God to kill one of his creation but the sins of Adam and Eve had to be paid by an innocent pure animal. In Rom. 6:23 it says the wages of sin is death. God didn't want these precious animals to die but he loved his people more and allowed their sacrifice as a temporary payment for our sins. There would be many more sacrifices until Jesus permanently paid all the sins once and for all, including future sins - Rom. 6:10. The curse of Romans 6:23 because the second part says the gift of God is eternal life. When we believe and accept the gift of God that Jesus Christ, God the Son, died for our sins, rose again, and anyone that believes in Jesus will be saved, then we are fully given and have eternal life - John 3:16.
When God gave the judgement to the serpent, He gave two curses; one to the serpent and one to Satan. God said the serpent will be cursed above all the beast of the field then it lowered it to the ground and told that it will eat dust all it's life. Apparently, the serpent was also at fault here. It seems from the curse it was given, the serpent back then was a powerful beast beyond any large animals, like cattle. God humbled it was made the current snake we see now. Satan, some how possessed this animal and looks like they worked together to temp people. Satan clearly knew what he was doing and interestingly God pronounces a judgement as if Satan also was the serpent. People born to the woman, which is everyone, will be at war with Satan. Enmity also means hatred. They will have a battle but it will be one Satan will lose. The seed is a singular male, strong enough to defeat Satan's seed, in this case himself, by crushing Satan's head. For a snake, all the vital organs and brain are in the head. Once you crush that, the snake dies. Satan will inflict pain in the victor, but only a the heel. Who is the victor? It is Jesus Christ.
The immediate result of biting into the forbidden fruit was not at all what Satan promised. he said they will be like God. They instead became afraid and looking for ways to hide their shame. Notice how quickly everything changed for God's greatest creation. They know they did something wrong and now trying to hide from the all seeing and all knowing God. In vs. 9, it appears that God doesn't know what's happening when He calls out to Adam, but God already knows. It's like the parent that knows exactly that their child took that cookie but ask the child where that cookie is. Even though the child has cookie crumbs on his clothes, he says, "Mommy, I don't know." God asked a direct question if Adam ate the forbidden frit but Adam blames his wife. It's true she gave him the fruit but he didn't have to eat it. He ask the woman, "what is this you have done?" and like the man, blames the serpent. God doesn't ask the serpent any question because he knows who the serpent really is - it's Satan. All three are at fault and in front of God, everything is exposed. We all stand naked in front of God, therefore we need to tell Him the truth and live for Him.
It's strange to see an animal that is intelligent. When I see dogs doing all kinds of tricks, I know the trainer spent many hours and treats to get to that point. When we read about this serpent, we see it can speak. It's interesting that the woman and the man were not surprised by this. Maybe they had many conversations wit this serpent and now they trust it. We're not sure because the bible doesn't say. We find that the true voice of this serpent is Satan because God tells it about it's future found in vs. 15. Satan starts with bringing doubt as it says in vs. 1. Even when the woman responds correctly, Satan when tells his thoughts but makes it seem like he knows better than the people. Notice how subtle Satan is. He ask a question like a child - like why is the sky blue? Yet he had in mind a calculated way to ruin all mankind. We have to hold strong that God and His words have the highest authority. Even if Satan make sense, we have to go to God's words and verify it. By the way, Satan knows the bible too, but he will use it so we will follow him. We need to read God's words and follow God's way. Then the truth will set us free.
It's interesting that God didn't make a woman right away. In verse 18, God says it is not good for Adam to be alone. God goes on to solve this problem by saying He will make a companion to help him. Strangely it was animals that God brought to the man, so Adam can give them their names. Out of all the animals, none would be a helper. That's very important for us to know because so many people cherish their pets, many times, more than other humans. We have made statues to animals to worship, but they were meant to be taken care of by us. it was only a woman that Adam finally said "At last!". Eve is one with Adam literally because she was formed from the man's rib. I believe God did this on purpose so man and woman can see they both are important and made from the same elements. When a man looks down or abuses a woman, he is essentially doing that to himself. If we see marriage this way, we too will see our companion and say "At Last!"
God didn't give any other things He created an option to choose like He did for people. It's interesting that God would allow man the choice to disobey. Some might say that is wrong because this innocent man didn't know how dangerous it was. When you ask yourself what is God like, unfair is not one of them. God is love, gracious, holy, just, wise, and merciful. God is also all knowing. God is not like us. We live in a timeline that only goes forward whereas God is beyond time. That is why He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. When God made people, He wanted to give them a choice to follow Him or reject Him so in another words, Free Will. If you're a parent you will understand what a joy you have when your child chooses to follow you freely on their own accord. Even though this choice would bring sin to all of the human race, it was the best wisest decision from an all powerful knowing God. God is good and truly He is good all the time.
It took only 6 days for God to make everything. When I say everything, we are talking about the world, everything in the world, and everything out of this world, and the entire universe. We have been fortunate to see people go to space, the moon, and even take pictures for us to see. We have powerful telescopes that keeps showing us how expanse this universe is. t seems endless and God did all this in 6 days. Some people say those days could have been more than 24 hours. the question I have to ask is "Is it tooo hard for God to make all this and take what the bible says as the literal meaning of 6 days?" I say, No it is not too hard for God. God can do anything. God even made His greatest creation, people, from dust. God purposely rested on the seventh day, not that needed rest, but to call it a holy day. He has made that day, the Sabbath day, for us. Why? It is meant for us to look back on those 6 days of creation and worship God. we are to celebrate all He has made and refuel our faith in God. It's a day only for God.
When a sculptor looks at a rock, he sees what it is before he chisels the rock. Later that once plain rock becomes a master piece. God knew exactly how people would look like and what purpose they had before He made them. No other creation is like people. Only for people, God said, we will be made in His image, likeness, and will be pattern after Him. Just that is telling of our purpose. We are to be the hands and feet of God. We are to be His ambassadors and are perfect for that because we are like Him. We are to take care of all living things as God would do it. He would love them and make sure nothing bad happens to these animals. We possess the characters of God. Notice the bible say, "Let us". Us means more than one. The only one God will seek counsel from are those equal to Him. As we read the bible, only Jesus and the Holy Spirit has that authority. We also see they too are God and all three are one. They are the Triune God.
God made all the animals that ever existed in one day. One can argue that it's possible that we didn't see all the variations of animals and it's type in the beginning and I would say that is a strong possibility. When God brought the animals to Noah, He didn't need all the type of dogs as an example. Just like how God made Adam and Eve and from them, all the people with different skin colors came. What's important is God designed us to reproduce to our own kind vs. 25. I can see how scientist can get confused here because we see so many different kinds of animals and they are trying to connect these similar types with another that is not the same. Darwin did an extensive research with picture to try to prove his point. Many people believed his theories, but they can't find these missing links. They will never find them because there isn't any. I believe Darwin had a darker agenda. His title of his book is "On the origin of species by means of natural selection - the preservation of favored races in the struggle of life". This was written in 1859, a time some people were fighting for the freedom of slavery and during the era of Abraham Lincoln. Very Telling. By the way, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 for to free slaves.
Think about how complicated a tree is. There is the roots that secures it in place and finds water and nutrients. The tree grows higher to get more sunlight. It is protected by layers of bark. It continues to grow sideways yet it's mindful of the other trees next to it. It has a beautiful covering of leaves to look more full and not bare. Then it has fruits that has seeds to help it reproduce. No man has been able to make a tree. I think it's just too complicated for them. God did it with a few words. It took only a day to make all the vegetation in the world. On top of that, they produce offspring that are the same. This wasn't an evolutionary process of billions of years. Why did God create the earth, day, night, land, sea, sky, and vegetation? By the way, that was all done in tree days. He did it because it was good vs. 12. He did it because it pleased Him. You will see that all creation was made for God and because of God. We should look at everything with the fresh view that God made everything and discover His great purpose for it. I believe He will reveal it to us and with that knowledge use them properly.