Category: Genesis-BibleTrekToday
Trek through Genesis
From prison to palace!
Scripture reading for January 15: Genesis 41-44
Genesis 41:41-42 “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.”
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 imprisonment. In jail his righteous character brought him trust and a reputation. He had interpreted the dreams of two other prisoners. One was executed but the other 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 from prisoner to second in command in all of Egypt in a few hours
Joseph’s time in jail tested his faith and centered him even closer to God. God’s blessing rested on him even in that jail. When God’s time came, the prince came out and Joseph’s dreams came true! Joseph was also a type of Jesus Christ. God sent Him before us to deliver us by His suffering. The Word of the Lord has proved Him true too! Our light momentary afflictions are working an eternal weight of glory! Keep on being faithful and He will exalt you in due time!
Are you believing God for dreams or visions He has given you? Are you being faithful to serve God and others in the place He has you in now?
Psalm 105:17-19“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.”
Use ‘de’ feet to avoid defeat!
Scripture reading for January 13th: Genesis 37-40
Genesis 39:11-12 “One day he (Joseph) went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants were inside. She caught him by the cloak and said, “come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
The story of Joseph is a fascinating one! He was a dreamer and the youngest of 11 brothers. He was also his father’s favorite and probably a little spoiled. After sharing dreams that showed his father and brothers bowing down to him, jealousy and murderous intentions in his brothers nearly cost him his life. Thankfully, one of his brothers showed a small amount of compassion and his life was spared. Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt, his dreams apparently shattered.
In Egypt, God placed Joseph as a servant to a wealthy Egyptian, Potiphar. One day when Potiphar was gone, Joseph was doing his duties in the house. He was propositioned by Potiphar’s wife. “Come to bed with me!” Joseph’s response was full of truth and godly wisdom. “My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Day after day, Joseph continued to refuse her advances. One day she grabbed him by his cloak and Joseph used his feet to escape. He was falsely accused by the shunned woman, and ended up in prison!
Adultery is a sin! It is a sin against God and another person and their mate made in God’s image and joined as one. Adultery causes lying, jealousy, hatred, violence and ultimately death. It sows violence in a relationship and destroys marriages and homes. Children are the victims and the devil loves to devour children in the midst of adultery, lying and violence. Scripture calls us to marriage purity and tells us to flee temptation to avoid defeat!
Are you caught in temptations that you are finding difficult to resist? Have you asked God for inner strength to stand up for His Word? What’s keeping you from using your feet?
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed should be kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4
Wrestling with God!
Scripture Reading for January 12: Genesis 32-36
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty, be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and community of nations will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” Genesis 36:11-12
Have you ever felt that God has told you to do something difficult? Our first move away from home to pastor our first church in Washington was like that. Our daughter just ready for her senior year in a good Christian high school. We had always lived close to family and our church family. This new church was in a different culture and was two thousand miles away. We had told God we would go anywhere, but not necessarily this far! But we are so thankful for obeying God! Our lives were made rich in His plans!
Jacob faced just such a challenge in Genesis 31:13. God commanded him to go back home after twenty years in exile. Jacob had taken his brother Esau’s birthright and stolen his father’s blessing. He had just upset his father-in-law by leaving with his family and herds acquired by his shrewdness. Jacob sent his family across the Jabok, a tributary of the Jordan River. He heard reports that Esau was coming with 400 men and he stayed behind to pray.
That night Scripture says “a man wrestled with him until daybreak”. (Genesis 32:22-31) This “man” touched Jacobs hip socket and put it out of joint. But Jacob would not let him go until this “man” blessed him. The man asked Jacob his name–“Jacob” (cheat, supplanter). The man changed Jacob’s name to “Israel” (wrestled with God and men and have overcome.) Thus the nation of “Israel” was born out of this amazing wrestling match!
Have you ‘wrestled with God’? Is there something that God is asking you to do that is troubling or dangerous or causes fear? Confess your old ‘name’. Persistently seek the Lord for His provision and blessing and humbly receive His new name for you!
“He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17
Unequally yoked!
Scripture Reading for January 11–Genesis 27-31
“Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.” Genesis 27:46
Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for Isaac from believing family to insure the godly line would be continued. Isaac and Rebekah had the twins Jacob and Esau. But Esau had a taste for these Hittite women, not just one, but two wives at the same time! It seems that Esau was oblivious to the grief he caused his godly parents. He went right ahead in spite of their personal marriage story and probably their godly training and advice.
God asks us to walk by faith and in obedience to His Word. He has placed those in authority over us to help us learn how to live and please the Lord. Choosing a mate is one of the most important choices we make in life. Parents know their children and should give godly instruction to marry only believers. We should help them by setting an example of a godly marriage and home. We should be praying for God’s helpmate for our children and instructing them to wait on God. (2nd Corinthians 6:14-15.) God desires godly offspring and parents work and pray to see faith passed on!
Are you married and praying for your children? Have you taught your children to pick godly mates who are believers? Take time to pray for our nation and the need for returning to godly marriage principles.
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what have righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” 2nd Corinthians 6:14-15
Digging wells of blessing!
Scriptures for January 10th: Genesis 25-26
On our farm in Iowa, we had a dug well that was over 100 feet deep. (Not a drilled well!) This well was about 4 feet across and my father and his dad and brothers had helped dig this well and brick it up. Occasionally, we would set up a tower with a rope and a basket and my dad would be lowered into the well to check the bricks and eliminate roots that were growing in through the wall. It always amazed me that Dad said he could see the stars from the bottom of that well in broad daylight.
“Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.” Genesis 26:19
Because of a famine, Isaac camped in the Valley of Gerar (Gaza) in the land of the Philistines (Palestine) and reopened the wells of his father Abraham. The well provided precious water in the desert that enabled crops, animals and humans to have refreshing and life. They provided a gathering place for communities as people came for water daily. (Remember Jesus meeting the woman at the well in Samaria.) In Isaac’s day, they became a source of quarreling. Rather than fight over the wells, Isaac went to another location and dug a new well. God blessed him to find a supply of water wherever he went.
It was there that God reaffirmed to him the promise of the land and descendants as the stars in the sky. (Genesis 26:2-6) Isaac obeyed and planted crops that year. God blessed him with a hundred fold return! Jealousy caused the Philistines to stop up the wells of Abraham that Isaac had been using. He moved on and dug new wells and God provided fresh water every time! After God met him at Beersheba and blessed him, (Genesis 26:24-25) Isaac responded with an altar and another well.
Are you digging wells in the place where God has sent you? As you dig, can you look up and see the stars of promise that God will fulfill? Do you need to dig again the wells of godly ancestors?
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
The wonderful laughter of faith!
January 9th Scripture Reading: Genesis 21-24
In 1992 while attending a pastor’s conference in California, a man gifted in prophetic ministry gave my wife and I a word from the Lord. He told us we would have children in our later years and that they would be a blessing. Several months later at our home church, a visiting evangelist picked us out of 700 people and gave us the same word. At this time, we already had three children and had no plans for more. We chuckled a bit, but mostly wondered at these interesting words. Seven years later, in August of 1999, we traveled to Russia and adopted two daughters! As we prepared to do this, we had forgotten the prophecy. Our son reminded us and I found in my file one of these words that had been typed out for me, confirming God does know the end from the beginning! (Isaiah 42:9)
God promised a son to Abraham and Sarah in their later years. They waited 25 years and the promise finally came to pass. God waited until it was impossible for them to have a child and then did the impossible! Sarah had laughed at the angel’s announcement a year earlier. Abraham named the child “Isaac” which literally means “laughter”. In their old age they experienced the sound of laughter–the laughter of faith.
Have you ever had to laugh at the amazing fulfilment of God’s promises? Have you ever received a word from God that has come to pass? Or is still awaiting fulfilment?
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver in unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:18-21
“Don’t do this wicked thing”
January 8th Scripture Reading: Genesis 18-20
An ongoing debate and cultural war is going on in our society concerning gay and lesbian rights and gender identification. From today’s reading, we get insight into how God feels about this sort of activity in a city or country. He has ordained marriage between a man and a woman. He made them male and female. But disobedience to the clear command and purpose of God, always brings consequences. He is merciful to all who will listen and obey but will judge unrepented sin and rebellion. Sin’s outcry reaches heaven and God’s ears. The righteous cry out for deliverance and justice and God responds!
In response to the reports of wickedness that had reached heaven, God sent two angels to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family before judgment fell. As these angels were visiting with Lot, the men of Sodom came knocking on Lot’s door, demanding to have those visitors (the angels appearing as men) for their own sexual pleasure. Lot pleaded with them, “Please don’t do this wicked thing.” (Genesis 19:6) But they violently began to break down his door. The angels intervened, pulled Lot inside, and struck the men outside blind. They warned Lot to gather his family and leave because God would soon destroy that city.
The saddest note in this story is when Lot tried to warn his son’s-in-law about the coming destruction and they thought he was joking! (Genesis 19:14) Lot had moved to Sodom with great riches. He apparently tolerated the wickedness and even failed to help his own daughters find believing mates. When the angels warned of the coming destruction, he delayed. As they finally left, his own wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt! Jesus used this as a warning to His disciples and us! {Luke 17:32)
Are you aware of the warnings from God’s Word? Are you warning those involved in the “sin of Sodom?” Are you careful to vote for godly men and women who will listen to God’s Word on this subject?
“Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah–from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:24-26
Father of a multitude!
January 6th Scripture Reading: Genesis 15-17
A great deal has happened in the lives of Abram and Sarai in the last three chapters. They traveled to Egypt and back. They rescued Lot from invaders. They gave the first tithes to Melchizedek, an unusual man who was a king of Salem (Jerusalem) and a priest of “The Most High God”. Sarai suggested to Abram that he have a child by her maid, Hagar, to fulfill God’s promise since she was still barren. A child resulted and trouble ensued. Good ideas are not always God’s ideas! The child, Ishmael, became a source of trouble in the house and was prophesied to be one who would cause trouble (Genesis 16:12). We are today experiencing trouble from Ismael’s offspring over 4000 years later!
God visited Abram and Sarai again about 25 years later. Abram is now 99 years old and Sarai is 90. During this visit, God renewed His promise of a son born to Sarai. God confirmed His promise to them in a covenant. Part of a covenant is an exchange of names. Abram means “Exalted Father” and Abraham means “Father of a multitude”. Sarai’s new name means “Princess”. God took Abraham’s name too. He became known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God gave them circumcision a physical sign of the covenant. This mark in the male organ carrying the “seed”, would remind Abraham of God’s promise and mark his offspring as set apart for Him.
Faith simply says “yes” to God and obeys! Abraham is known as the father of faith because he believed God and God credited him with being righteous! (Genesis 15:6) By faith in Jesus we are credited with righteousness and adopted into God’s family. God writes our name in the Book of Life and we have an eternal inheritance in Him . He gives us the Holy Spirit as a mark of His promises! Amen!
Have you ever tried to ‘help God out’ to fulfill a promise He made to you? How long have you had to wait for a promise to be fulfilled? Are you assured of your right standing with God through Jesus?
“Having believed, you were marked in Him (Christ) with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His Glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14
Abraham believed God!
January 6th Scripture Reading: Genesis 12-14
Genesis 12:2-3 “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you, and him that dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
About 2000 years before Christ and about 400 years after the tower of Babel, God spoke to a man in Ur of the Chaldeans in the land that is now called Iraq. This man’s name was Abram and he was about 75 years old and married to a woman named Sarai. They were childless and already beyond the years of child-bearing. God made promises to them and their offspring.
God gave Abram eight specific promises: (1) I will make you a great nation, (2) I will bless you, (3) I will make your name great, (4) You will be a blessing, (5) I will bless those who bless you, (6) I will curse those who curse you, (7) All peoples of the earth will be blessed through you, (8) To your offspring I will give this land (Canaan). (Genesis 12:2-3, 7.) God then asked Abram to leave his home and go to a land that God would show him. Abram did exactly what God asked, and his faith gave him righteousness.
Faith looks at God Who made the promises and chooses to believe that He is able to fulfill them! That’s exactly what God is calling us to do! He asks us to believe Him now and be blessed and become a blessing. “And without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Which of the promise of God is most precious to you? Are you ‘fully persuaded’ that God’s promise of salvation belongs to you? What is that persuasion based on? What really pleases God?
“Yet he (Abraham) did not waver in unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:20-21
Confused Human efforts!
January 4th Scripture Reading: Genesis 10-11
God blessed Noah and told him and his family to be fruitful and multiply and fill the whole earth. (Genesis 9:1) Nimrod, Noah’s grandson born to Ham, led a rebellion around 100 years after the flood. The rebellion consisted of gathering family members together on the plain of Shinar (Ancient Babylon, current Iraq). They decided to build a tower that would reach to the heavens and to make a name for themselves and resist being scattered over the face of the earth as God had commanded. God realized that with one language and rebellious leadership, nothing would be impossible for them. He confused their language (babel) and scattered them over the earth.
Genesis 10 is a genealogy of the sons of Noah who repopulated the earth after the flood. One of Shem’s grandsons, Eber, (father of the Hebrews) had a son Peleg. Peleg means “division” and verse 25 states that “in his time the earth was divided. . “. Some creation scientists believe that this is when God separated the continents following the judgment at the tower of Babel. Those scattered people groups, represented by the 70 family groups of Genesis 10, formed the nations of the world that we see in existence today.
Do you ever wonder about how all the nations and languages came to be? What is God’s plan to unite all mankind? Take time today to thank Him for your heritage and for showing mercy in judgment at the tower of Babel.
“From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out and find him, though He is not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:26-27