Genesis Chapter 50 - Turning Inadequacy into Victory

The end of an era had come…Jacob had died. Joseph loved his father very much, and he mourned his death deeply. He followed the Egyptian tradition of embalming, which took 40 days, and Egyptian mourning, which lasted 70 days. After that Joseph asked permission from Pharaoh to honor his father’s last request of being buried in the family tomb back in Canaan that had been purchased by Abraham. There was a very large funeral procession with Jacob’s sons and their households, along with the dignitaries of Egypt who went in support of Joseph, their beloved ruler.

Once again the brothers were afraid of Joseph. Now that Jacob was dead, they wondered if Joseph would finally seek revenge. However, Joseph had truly forgiven his brothers, and he reassured them of his continued provision for them and their families. He once again reminded them that even though what they had done to him was evil, God brought good out of it. To see things from God’s perspective is the essence of wisdom, and Joseph was a very wise man. He continued to live in the land of Egypt until his death, but he knew a day would come when the Israelites would go back to the land of Canaan. When that happened they were instructed by Joseph to carry his bones out of Egypt with them.

Throughout the rest of the Bible there will be references to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three patriarchs had made their place in history in the nation of Israel for all time to come. The fact that they were buried in Canaan, at their request, was indication that they truly believed this land would be given to their descendants, as God had promised. This is the point where Moses ended his book of beginnings, the book of Genesis. He gave us a living portrait of the earliest fathers of faith. None of them were perfect. They were all very human, and they made their mistakes. But it was their underlying faith in God that made them repent and move forward at God’s instructions. They were very inadequate men who recognized that it was in following God that they became victorious.

I trust you have found the same great assurance that I have found in this study of Genesis. The Almighty God of the universe, through whom all things were created; the Faithful God of the patriarchs, through whom they were led…this same God is Lord of my life and abides in me. I am His created being; I am His chosen servant. God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, is in control of my path. I can rest in Him and rely on Him. Throughout the book of Genesis in my Bible, He has spoken to me:
"I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless." (17:1)

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (18:14)

"The Lord will provide." (22:14)

"The Lord, before whom I have walked, will...make your journey a success..." (24:40)

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go," (28:15)

"...God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done..." (50:20)

"How big is God! How big and wide His vast domain,
To try to tell these lips can only start;
He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe,
Yet, small enough to live within my heart."
(Stuart Hamblen, Copyright 1959, Hamblen Music Co.)

Joy and Peace to you,
Carol

Genesis Chapter 15 - Faith In God's Blueprint

"Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." (vs. 6) This is one of the most important verses in the whole Bible. When someone tries to explain what faith is, it is this very verse that best explains it. Abram believed God, trusted Him, and took Him at His word. Because of that faith Abraham was made righteous, right in the eyes of God. He was forgiven and made an heir to God’s kingdom simply for believing God, even when things seemed impossible. For example, God promised him a son from Abram’s own aging body, and descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Also, through a vision God revealed to Abram the future captivity of Israel and what the final outcome would be. Abram was told he would not be part of the captivity, but that he would rest in peace. God was assuring Abram that the future of his family, the multitude of descendants he would have, was completely under God’s control.

It is hard to imagine having descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky when you are aging and do not have even one child. Abram thought perhaps God would bless him through his faithful servant, Eliezar, but that was not God’s plan. God’s plan is always more creative and expansive than we can even fathom. Remember, this is the same God who had created the whole universe and everything that exists. Is anything too hard for Him?

Am I willing to surrender my own agenda for the magnificent blueprint that God has for my life? My plans are so small, so insignificant compared to His. Oh, Lord, I pray that I may have patience to wait on your revelation of the pattern you are weaving in my life. May it be a tapestry of beauty that you are creating one stitch at a time!

"Something beautiful, something good;
All my confusion He understood.
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife,
But He made something beautiful out of my life."
(Gloria and William Gaither, Copyright 1971)

Even though Abram was faithful in his service, God did not consider him righteous because of his hard work. Abram was made right in his relationship to God because of his simple belief in God, that He was ruler of all, and that He could and would do all that He promised. By the same token, all of our good works, or faithful attendance to church, or service to our community will not make us right with God. It is only when we put our absolute trust in God that we are accepted by Him.

In the study notes of The Wesley Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Copyright 1990) we find these comments: God is righteous, which means He is always right in His actions, attitudes, and character. He is always consistent and fair. When we are made righteous, we are given God’s Spirit of holiness to help us to be right…to have integrity of character and to treat others right. When we surrender our wills to God, He guides us in the process of becoming more and more like Him. Above and beyond having a right relationship with God, I desire to be like Him. This journey through Genesis is teaching me so much about God, and about me. Thank you, Father, for leading us down this path so that we may know you better. Amen.

Genesis Chapter 7 - Is God On Board?

Have you ever wanted to live in a zoo? Or maybe sometimes you feel like you do. Certainly Noah can go down in history as having the first floating zoo. Whatever kind of creature God had created, Noah took at least one male and one female on board the ark. It has been estimated by biblical scholars that almost 45,000 animals could have fit in the boat with Noah and his family.

This is one of those stories in the Bible that is best accepted by faith. When you try to figure out where all the food supplies came from, or where it was stored, or where they kept the "compost" pile, it just becomes overwhelming to imagine. How could a family of eight care for that many animals? Maybe God used the waves of the flood waters to rock the boat and put every creature to sleep for the next six months or so. I don’t know, and it’s too much for me to fathom. I just know God cared about all of His creation, not just His highest order. That gives me comfort, for it tells me there is nothing too small for God to give His attention to.




When the ark was fully loaded with all the living creatures that God had commanded Noah to take aboard, God shut the door. He was about to bring about a very destructive phenomenon called flooding. The Bible says "the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (vs. 11). For forty days it rained without ceasing. With all of that water, even the highest mountain top was under water more than twenty feet. Every living creature on the earth, except those in the ark, perished in the flood waters, which lasted a total of 150 days.


When God shut the door, He slammed down the gavel of judgment. Sin and evil had become such a stench to God that He wiped everything out except those on the ark. If Noah had not found favor in God’s eyes, would that have been the end of man, the end of all creation? God had once again shown judgment and mercy in dealing with the wickedness of earth.

Since the beginning of time, "God has always had a people." I find comfort in this thought also, for it tells me of a God who is so holy that He cannot bear to look on sin, and yet in His holiness, He is so full of love, that He delivers His own from total destruction. We may go through a "flood", but if we have God in our boat, we can be assured that He will see us safely to the other side. No storm will ever completely overtake us, for He speaks peace in the middle of our storms.

"There is peace in the midst of my storm-tossed life;
Oh, there’s an Anchor, there’s a Rock to cast my faith upon.
Jesus rides in my vessel so I’ll fear no alarm;
He gives me peace in the midst of my storm!"

(Stephen Adams Music, Copyright 1978, 1982, 1983, Franklin House Publishing, Inc.)