Genesis 29:1-30

Dear RTB’ers,

Jacob and his wives – more deception! Two days ago I asked a question in my post, “What was God thinking?” John answered, “Where in the text does it suggest that all this conniving and deceit is God’s idea or that He approves of Rebekah’s and Jacob’s schemes? Just because a story appears in the Bible does not mean that God condones all the actions of the participants. But God is indeed sovereign, and He works out His purposes even when the human actors have evil intent.” So, today we have more “conniving and deceit”, this time from Jacob’s uncle Laban, and Jacob ends up with two wives, both Leah and Rachel. One twist that I thought amusing: Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn…” (Gen 29:26) After buying the firstborn’s birthright from Esau, Jacob now receives another birthright, Leah, the “firstborn” from Laban. Justice…?

So yes, we have another Genesis story of conniving, deception, and deceit. But let’s not lose sight of the love: Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel …Then Jacob kissed Rachel… (Gen 29:10-11, with some important context removed); …but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Jacob loved Rachel. (Gen 29:17-18a); So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah… (Gen 29:30a) This incident reflecting Jacob’s love for Rachel prompted Carol and me to name our youngest daughter, “Rachel” – tying together Jacob’s seven-year wait with our own two-year broken engagement: “But God is indeed sovereign, and He works out His purposes even when…” Yes, “…even when…”!

Have you got your own “…even when…” story? Let’s hear about it at our RTB gathering tomorrow!

Blessings!

Genesis 27:46-28:22

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we see Isaac honoring his blessing of Jacob and agreeing with Rebekah’s wish, sending Jacob away: “Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ” (Genesis 28:2) I’ve long had an interest in the geography of the Bible. Today we see Jacob leaving Beersheba, located at the very southern end of the Promised Land and on the same latitude as the southern border of the Mediterranean Sea and journeying to the northeast toward Paddan-aram, located on approximately the same latitude as the northern border of the Mediterranean Sea, nearly 500 miles away! It would take him probably a month to get there. If we reverse that journey, we get some sense of how far Abraham traveled when God asked him to leave his family: “Go from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you …” [and] … he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:1-4)

Jacob’s dream. Do you dream? Does the Lord speak to you in your dreams? Not I. Although I do dream a lot, I’ve never sensed the Lord leading me one way or the other in my dreams. Not the case with Jacob! So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone… (v. 18a). Jacob somehow knew that the Lord speaking to him in a dream was actually the Lord directing his steps. His response was an “if-then” pairing, with a bunch of “ifs”: “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father’s house in safety… (Gen 28:20-21), and one major “then”: “…then the LORD will be my God.” (Gen 28:21b) and two lesser “thens” – the memorial stone and the tithe (Gen 28:22). Surprisingly, to me, God honored all of Jacob’s “ifs” and did return him to his father’s house.

Years ago (August 1969) I gave God my own “if-then” offer. He did not comply with my plan. Enough said. It was nearly six years later (May 1975) when He began to reveal to me His plan for me. His was a much better plan; I’m still living it out!! You?

Blessings!

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See also: January 10 (2023) / Genesis 28-30

Genesis 27:1-45

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, back to Genesis, back to the story of Isaac’s twin boys, Esau and Jacob. First, a bit of review, providing context for today’s reading: When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:27-28) Don’t we imagine that parents should love all their children equally? Not in God’s eternal plan…: Isaac loved Esau…, but Rebekah loved Jacob Reminder: God is God, we are not. So here we see a potential problem between these twins. However, Esau creates his own problem by selling his birthright: Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:34) And one more bit of context for today’s passage: When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. (Genesis 26:34-35)

So, today, Rebekah proposes a deceitful plan (Gen 27:6-10, 13); Jacob follows through and lies three times to his father (Gen 27:19, 20, 24) and receives the birthright blessing; Esau learns of the deceit and vows to kill Jacob (Gen 27:30-38, 41); Jacob gets sent away to Rebekah’s brother, Laban (Gen 27:42-43); and Rebekah justifies her actions: Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?” (Gen 27:46 – actually, tomorrow’s reading)

So, what to make of this story? Does the end justify the means…?? Lying or cheating our way to the top is OK? That’s not how we Westerners typically think. What was God thinking in bringing all this together? (See reminder above.) But wait! This Jacob and Esau story continues! Spoiler alert: Jacob becomes the father of the twelve tribes of Israel and is widely recognized as one of Israel’s patriarchs, “Abraham, Isaac. and Jacob…” What was God thinking…??

Blessings!

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See also: January 9 (2023) / Genesis 25-27

Luke 19:11-28

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus tells a realistic parable here. It was not uncommon for noblemen to go to Rome and get their orders – receiving regions for their administration. My Study Bible noted that the Herods did just that when they were appointed rulers over the Jews. So the first two servants being appointed over ten cities and five cities, respectively, was a reasonable reward for their stewardship. But as a parable, Jesus is less interested in the local rulers and more interested in heavenly things. He is telling us about our earthly behavior and rewards accruing to us based on what we do: “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Luke 19:26) I suspect that Jesus could well have been inferring to the Jewish leaders as “servants” who had not done anything with what they were receiving from Him, and that their leadership in heavenly matters would be taken away and given to others. We see this happening in the book of Acts and in later history as the Church grows and the Jewish kingdom falters.

And when He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. (Luke 19:28) And that’s how we leave Luke for now, as we go back to the Old Testament for the next three weeks to finish the second half of Genesis.

Blessings!

Luke 18:35-19:10

Dear RTB’ers,

Two stories today, the blind man and Zacchaeus, with parallels between them:

1. They both heard that Jesus was coming their way. Apparently the crowd following Jesus was large and loud.
2. They made the effort to see Jesus – the blind man verbally and Zacchaeus visually.
3. The crowd was displeased – they tried to shut up the blind man and they berated Jesus for being a guest in a sinner’s house.
4. When He became aware of them Jesus called them to Him.
5. They came hastily!
6. They made their requests known to Jesus – the blind man seeking sight and Zacchaeus seeking forgiveness.
7. Jesus granted “salvation” in each case.

Yet with all the similarities there was one big difference between the blind man and Zacchaeus: the blind man was a beggar and Zacchaeus was very rich. Yet they both called to Jesus, and He answered their prayers and made them whole. It doesn’t matter who we are or where we are in life; Jesus is always there to hear our call and heal us at our deepest needs. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Blessings!

Luke 18:18-34

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus speaking: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” (Luke 18:31b-33) Jesus had already predicted His death and resurrection earlier in Luke and (from The Chronological Study Bible) in Matthew and Mark, as well (Luke 9:22-27; Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32). The Chronological Study Bible also has this prediction following Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead. I would think that, having heard it so many times and now seeing Lazarus’ resurrection, that the twelve would have had more understanding. Yet verse 34 says that …they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. My guess is that inwardly they were denying His death and accordingly could not fathom His resurrection to any comprehensible degree. Even today many people would accept that Jesus was crucified and died, but are unwilling to accept the compelling evidence that He rose from the dead. Today it’s a matter of faith (or lack thereof); presumably it was the same back in the 1^st century.

Jesus pinpoints details about His death in today’s reading much more than He had in His prior death prediction from Luke 9:22-27. The accuracy of His predictions strengthens the faith of believers, but also provides fodder for His antagonists to suggest that the Gospel writers wrote what they wanted well after the fact, so as to make Jesus’ words and those of the Old Testament prophets coincide with actual outcomes. Same comment I closed with in the first paragraph above – it’s a matter of faith (or lack thereof)!!

Blessings!

Luke 18:1-17

Dear RTB’ers,

And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? (Luke 18:7) War comes to mind. I’m sure that there are thousands of faithful Christians in Ukraine who pray daily and read this parable and ask God, “When will you act against these heathens?” Or Polish believers from 1939 and Belgian and Dutch and French believers from 1940 on, all having to wait (and suffer) more than five years to see the end of Hitler’s war? Will He delay long over them? I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not God. I know that He knows all things and that He is operating on His own timetable. Mostly I think that I’m a patient man, that I can wait it out through difficulties – not without frustration, but still waiting and asking the Lord what He has for me to learn. But when I see the suffering of the Ukrainians over this unjust war, I ask the Lord, “When will You act?” Or when I read of Muslim terrorism in Africa, I ask, “When. Lord…?” And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them?

Blessings!

Luke 17:20-37

Dear RTB’ers,

A few days ago I noted that one of Jesus’ messages was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven [or God] is at hand.” Apparently He has spoken these words enough that now even the Pharisees are asking Him about it: Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them… (Luke 17:20) So are these Pharisees challenging Him or seeking to know more? A good question… Either way, He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:21) In the book, Heaven, the author, Randy Alcorn, argues extensively that we are living in Heaven, that our Earth – in a glorified state – is the future Heaven. So when Jesus says that the kingdom of God is in the midst of you, He could be speaking specifically of “Heaven on Earth”. That is, His words could be taken both literally (a physical Earth) and figuratively (spiritually, within each of us). Also, He may have meant Himself, that He represented or that He was the Kingdom and they missed it, or He may have meant that He had established the Kingdom with His coming and they did not see that either. A lot of ways we can take Jesus’ words…

Jesus’ return… “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day. But firs He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” (Luke 17:24-25) Clearly the disciples must have been confused with this language because He had not yet departed. Jesus had spoken often of His coming death, but it seems that this talk of His death was never really clear to the disciples. So talk of a second coming was even less clear to them. However, to those of us on “this side of History”, Jesus’ further words are crystal clear! Don’t worry about the future, about Jesus’ second coming, just be ready for it whenever it comes! It’s always an interesting discussion to talk about the rapture, the notion that “…one will be taken, the other left” (Luke 17:35b) – the idea that one of us could be walking with a non-Christian friend and all of a sudden, we’re gone! Or horror of horrors, that we’re walking with a friend and all of a sudden, THEY’RE GONE and we’re left behind!! As I said above, just be ready. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows…” (Matthew 24:36a)

Blessings!

Luke 17:1-19

Dear RTB’ers,

And [Jesus] said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19) Jesus spoke these words to the Samaritan leper who had been cleansed. It had been faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him that had made him well: And as they were going, they were cleansed. (v. 14c) But notice – Jesus did not heal the ten “on the spot”. He only instructed them to Go and show yourselves to the priests. (v. 14b) All ten of them did as Jesus asked and were healed on the way. Presumably the nine continued on their journey to the priests, as instructed, to show themselves cleansed. Only the Samaritan returned. But were the nine wrong in not returning to Jesus? After their cleansing, unlike the Samaritan they continued to follow His instructions.

So, were the nine wrong in not returning to Jesus? They did what Jesus asked them to do. We don’t know if they continued on their journey to the priests, or if later they found Jesus and thanked Him, or they just rejoiced when they were found clean and continued on their merry way. I’d suggest that if they had continued on their way to the priests, then they had done what Jesus asked. But if they had gone that far, then the afterthought in their minds surely had to be thanking God for their healing. But clearly, as in the “Martha and Mary” story, the Samaritan had “chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from him.” (John 10:42b, slightly edited)

Blessings!