Category: Genesis-BibleTrekToday
Trek through Genesis
Prayer and God’s providence!
Scripture reading for January 10th: Genesis 23-27
Key Scriptures: Genesis 24:12-15 “Then he prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I any have a drink,’ and she says, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’–let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.” Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.”
God hears and answers prayer. Abraham was getting old and Isaac, his son needed a wife. Abraham sent his chief servant on a mission to find a wife from among his own kinsmen. The servant prayed for God’s guidance and favor. God answered before he could finish the prayer!
Cultivating thankfulness: Believers give thanks for all things and know that God hears and answers prayer! “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8)
Abundant prosperity!
Scripture reading for January 9th: Genesis 23-27
Cause for Thanksgiving: Genesis 26:1-3, 13-14 “Now there was a famine in the land–besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time–and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you.” “. . .Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundred-fold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”
Isaac was caught in a famine and sought help. The Lord God appeared to him with instructions to stay put and He would bless him. Isaac obeyed the Lord and God blessed him in a land of famine with a “hundred-fold” return and wealth that caused envy of the heathen!
Thanks to our Lord: Jesus promises up to a “hundred-fold return” to those who heard the Word of God and acted on it! We are in on a secret that gives us wealth beyond measure in the heavenly realm! “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
Thankful for God’s Provision!
Scripture reading for January 6th: Genesis 19-22
Growing in Thanksgiving: Genesis 22:1-3, 14 “Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.” “. . .”So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
God asked Abraham to do a difficult thing: sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Abraham obeyed and at the last second, God provided a ram in place of Isaac. “Jehovah Jireh” was the name Abraham gave the place on the mountain where “God provided” the ram!
Thanksgiving: God provided His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ, as the substitute for our sins. He was offered on a cross of wood he carried in the same location as Abraham’s son! “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
The Joy of Restoration!
Scripture reading for January 5th: Genesis 14-18
Cause for Rejoicing: Genesis 14:16-20 “He (Abram) recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions together with the women and the other people. . .Then Melchizedek, King of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And Blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Abram’s nephew Lot and his family and servants were taken captive by desert marauders. When Abram heard about it he pursued them and he recovered Lot and all that was lost! On his return, a mysterious king, Melchizedek, met him with a meal of bread and wine and blessed him in the Name of the Creator, God Most High. This so moved Abram, that he gave this Priest/King a tenth (tithe) of all the spoils. This came before the law about tithing!
Cause for rejoicing: God restores what is lost! He defeats our enemies and blesses us with a meal of bread and wine! We joyfully give our tithe and honor our Creator/Priest/King! “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. first, his name means “king of righteousness” then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace. Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” (Hebrews 7:1-3)
Rejoicing in God’s promises!
Scripture reading for January 4th: Genesis 10-13
Call to Joy: Genesis 12:1-3 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God’s call to a shepherd, Abram, who lived in the region of Babylon, was a call to adventure. It was a journey into the unknown with promises that stirred hope and joy! Becoming a great nation and blessed by God Himself was a grand promise. God defending him from his enemies and then causing him to be a blessing to the whole earth was joy-inducing! All that was required was a walk with God to a place He would reveal!
Rejoice: Believers in Jesus are now heirs of these promises to Abraham! “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. . . .If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26, 28)
Thankful for God’s Grace
Scripture reading for January 3rd: Genesis 5-9
Growing in Thanksgiving: Genesis 6:9-14 “This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. . . Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.”
Although man was created “very good”, sin entered mankind through their disobedience and the creation was corrupted as well. In a few years, the man God created had become so evil that God judged the earth and destroyed all living things except one man, Noah, and his family and a remnant of the animals. God preserved them as they obeyed His instruction to build the ark.
Cause for Thanksgiving: God spared Noah and is true to His Word! Jesus used Noah and his time to speak of His return. “As in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” (Matthew 24:37-38)
“Very good!”
Scripture reading for January 2nd: Genesis 1-4
Growing in Joy: Genesis 1:26-28, 31 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”” “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. . .”” “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”
God created us to be like Him! He gave us His image and authority to rule over all the earth. He made us male and female–each unique but compatible with His image and plan! He commanded man to be fruitful and fill the earth. When God finished, He declared all that He had made as “very good!”
Rejoice: God created us to be like Himself! We are designed by God and have be assigned care and authority over creation. God says all He made is “very good!” “But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.”” (Hebrews 2:5-8)
A Father’s blessings!
Scripture reading for January 17th: Genesis 48-50
Have you ever been at the bedside of a loved one who was soon to enter eternity? Joseph or someone in the family took down Jacob’s last words to each family member. He gave a special blessing to Joseph’s two sons, Ephriam and Manasseh. He then spoke prophetic words over the other sons. (Genesis 49:9-20)
The blessing of Joseph’s sons effectively made Joseph the first-born. Israel blessed Joseph and adopted the boys. In this way, Joseph would get the double portion. ( The first-born was to get a double portion of the inheritance.) The other brothers had tried to kill Joseph and cut him out, but God re-established his place and doubled the inheritance! Israel also chose Ephraim over Manasseh. The younger over the older. All blessing and God’s reward comes not from birth order but Divine order!
Judah also received a word in Genesis 49:8-12. Judah was told that his brothers would praise him. (His name means “praise”.) His hand would be on the neck of his enemies and his father’s sons would bow down to him. He was called a “lion’s cub”. Jesus was the offspring of Judah in the genealogy of Matthew 1:3. He is known as the “Lion of Judah” (Revelation 5:5) He triumphed over all God’s enemies! (Colossians 3:15) He is King of Kings and rules over nations! (Revelation 15:3-4)
Israel made Joseph swear to take his bones back to the promised land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). He believed in God returning to that land. He wanted to be buried there in order to receive his future inheritance. Israel got his wish and awaits the resurrection in the near future
“You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness–who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” Genesis 49:9-10.
Quarreling breaks connections!
Scripture reading for January 16th: Genesis 45-47
Families and churches are prone to conflict! I know because I live in a family and have been a pastor for twenty-five years in three different churches. I have experienced conflict in family and church settings and sometimes been responsible for it myself! Sometimes conflict comes from misunderstanding and poor communication. Other times it comes from jealousy or envy. Sometimes it comes from sin and wrong-doing. Everybody wants to blame somebody else and arguments ensue about who was right or who to blame!
When Joseph revealed himself to his estranged brothers, they were astonished, speechless, and terrified! (Genesis 45:1-7) Joseph had to reassure them because he probably had to work through these same kinds of feelings himself. God had given him understanding of the greater purpose that was being worked out. “It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”
Joseph sent them away to bring the rest of the family down to Egypt to save them during the next 5 years of famine. He warned them not to quarrel on the way! It doesn’t appear that repentance had truly taken place and Joseph sensed possible animosity. We can only take responsibility for our own sins and forgive others of theirs. When we do that, quarreling is greatly reduced and peace in the family can be re-established. God works out his purposes in our families and homes even amidst the conflict and sin so prevalent in our lives. Often it’s hard to see the big picture.
Jesus Christ was sent before us to save us! He saw God’s big picture and died for our sins. If we confess our sins and repent of them, he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all guilt and shame. But we may need many reminders to forgive ourselves, others, and let the old memories of failures fade away. May we be able to heed the ancient warning of Joseph and receive the blessing of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. “Don’t quarrel on the way!” (Genesis 45:24)
Connections in ‘high places’!
Scripture reading for January 15th: Genesis 41-44
Joseph had been in prison for several years for a crime he did not commit. He had been faithful to God and avoided the seductive trap of Potiphar’s wife, but it cost him time in jail. There he had risen to a key helper for the jailer. Today we would call him a “Trustee” who could work. He had interpreted the dreams of two other prisoners; the one who was freed had agreed to help him get out but promptly forgot! Two years later, Pharaoh had a disturbing dream that none of his advisers could interpret and the chief cupbearer, formerly Joseph’s fellow prisoner, remembered Joseph’s ability! Joseph was brought before Pharaoh and he interpreted the dream, giving God credit! ( Genesis 41:16) Pharaoh promoted Joseph to second in command in all of Egypt! He went from jailbird to prince because of his connection with God!
Faithfulness to the Lord to serve Him and live for Him brings great reward. Sometimes it takes us on paths we didn’t sign up for. We can learn from the story of Joseph to be faithful to God, even in adversity. We must faithfully live for God, even when we end up in situations we did not anticipate or ask for. We must hold onto our dreams from God and He will bring them to pass.
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took the signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.” Genesis 41:41-42
” and he sent a man before them–Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the Word of the Lord proved him true.” Psalm 105:17-19