In week three we have seen everything from reconciliation to horrific revenge, the difference between choosing life and death, the benefit of holding on tightly to our faith, and the importance of being faithful even in a little thing. With all of these lessons we have seen the wisdom in choosing God instead of the world in our own lives.
A Look AheaD to week four
As we move into week four we will get to know Joseph and see his extraordinary reaction to the horrifying and challenging events of his life. We will read shocking details about the life of Judah, another of of Jacob’s sons, and get a glimpse of God’s fingerprints in the outcome generations later. We will also listen as Joseph moves from dreaming dreams to interpreting the dreams of others.
Your turn: (Comments are welcome below)
What stood out to you this week from the story of Jacob?
What were your early impressions of Joseph?
What benefits or reasons are you seeing for choosing God instead of the world?
As we move into week four we will get to know Joseph and see his extraordinary reaction to the horrifying and challenging events of his life. We will read shocking details about the life of Judah, another of of Jacob’s sons, and get a glimpse of God’s fingerprints in the outcome generations later. We will also listen as Joseph moves from dreaming dreams to interpreting the dreams of others; and no matter how many times we’ve read or heard the stories – I believe we will yet again – perhaps even more so – stand in awe of how God uses it all to position Joseph exactly where he needs to be.
Don’t forget our memory verse from John 14:15
This week’s focus verse(s) will come from day one’s reading of 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. A message from Paul that would have no doubt been encouraging to Joseph during the challenging days of suffering that lay ahead.
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT
This Week’s Challenge from the team at Love God Greatly:
God allowed Joseph to endure great suffering in his life to bring about His divine purposes. As you read, note Joseph’s suffering. After you complete this wee’s reading, go back through the moments of his suffering and reflect on how God redeemed each of these events. Do you believe God can work the same way in your life? How has God already redeemed some of your seasons of suffering?
God – My Father – YOU ARE GOOD! How sweet it is to wake to the knowledge of You … to the nearness of You … To the HOPE of all You have promised … and To KNOW that I AM YOURS!
This! Yes, THIS is LIFE and BREATH and JOY and PEACE and STRENGTH for each new day! – me, from the inside-out
10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. NLT
Observation:
A glimpse of Joseph
Today’s passage from Genesis gives us a sneak peak at Joseph, whom we will continue to learn from in the coming weeks. Some of the things from today’s reading may be helpful to remember in future passages. While some speculate that Joseph was more loved than his brothers because he was the son of Rachel, the truth is that Joseph was loved more than all of his brothers because he born to Jacob in his old age, Genesis 37:3. As you can imagine, this caused problems with the brothers, as jealousy and hatred arose, fueled not only by the obvious display of Jacob’s love for Joseph, Genesis 37:3, but made worse by the dreams Joseph shared with them that seemed to be prophecies that he would one day rule over them. It also didn’t help that he gave a bad report to his father on how the brothers were caring for the sheep, Genesis 37:2. Scripture makes it clear that the brothers hated Joseph, leaves no doubt that the hate was fueled by jealousy, and clearly reveals that the hate destroyed relationships, Genesis 37:4, 8, 11.
Today’s Focus Verse
Today’s verse, Luke 16:10, is short and to the point. Basically it can be a stand-alone statement, “if you are faithful in a little you will be faithful in much and if you are dishonest in a little you will be dishonest in much”. However, there is much to be learned from it and the verses that surround it that make it much more than a general statement.
Learn more about the parable of the ‘unjust steward’, found in Luke 6:1-13, from Gotquestions.org
We should be a faithful steward, not unfaithful. Being faithful with our ‘earthly’ wealth or things entrusted to us here will bear witness to what kind of stewards we will be with the responsibilities and treasures that God will entrust to us in His Kingdom.
Prayer: Response to God’s Word
Father, help us to be faithful stewards here so that we may be found even better stewards with the responsibilities and treasures of Your Kingdom. This to Your glory both on earth and in heaven. – Amen!
Your Turn:
Over what areas has God given you responsibility?
How can you be faithful in the small things in you life?
How can you be faithful in the big thing God has given you?
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrews 10:23 NLT
Observation:
As I was rereading this verse a sing-song-ditty from my childhood came flooding back to my mind. I really only remember this one part … “hold on tightly, hold on tightly – swinging high, swinging low”. We would sing it over and over as we soared high into the air and descended low to the ground and back up again. It seems like a nice little reminder that regardless of how high or low the events of our swinging pendulum of our days/lives take us we must hold on tightly to our hope. We should clarify that the hope we refer to is the faith and hope we have placed in Christ Jesus and the promises God has made through Him. This is especially important when we are being pressured because of our faith, which was the case of those the author of Hebrews was addressing. His readers were Jewish Christians who were facing persecution and being pressured to return to Judaism. While we may never face the persecution they were facing we certainly face daily pressures in this fallen world to choose the ways of Jesus or the ways of the world. We would be wise to take this wisdom and make it our own – so that whether the pendulum of life has us on a mountain top or in the valley – our “hope” will not be shaken. Whether we soar on the swing to the mountain-top or descend on it to the valley floor we must remember and be resolved to hold on tightly to Jesus, Paul told the Galatians, we wait eagerly for the hope of righteousness, by faith, Galatians 5:5. According to the commentary from gotquestions.org, on this verse, Paul is referring “to the day of judgment, when we will hear God Himself declare us righteous because of our faith in Christ. Until that day, we wait, placing all our hope in just one person: Jesus.” Now, doesn’t that sound like something worth holding on to?
Application: How then should we Live?
Hold on tightly to Jesus and the hope that is ours through Him. Don’t lose sight of Him when everything is going right – and when everything seems to be going wrong and there seems no way out – hold on tightly and trust in the promises that God has made to us, for we know that they are ‘yes and amen’ in Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:20.
Prayer: Response to God’s Word
Father, help us to live faithfully – unswayed by the pressures of this world to take the easier road or to revert to the way we used to be – to live for self or others. Help us to hold on tightly to the hope of our faith and to Your good and trustworthy promises. – In His Name – AMEN!
Your Turn:
What examples have you seen of secular greatness or success growing faster than spiritual greatness?
Why do God’s promises demand patience from the recipient?
Want More?
If you have the journal for this study then you will already have access to this devo – but for those of you without the journal – I think you will find this to be quite helpful in understanding the connection between our focus passage and the continuing saga of Jacob’s life.
Scripture Reading: Genesis 35 and Deuteronomy 30:16-20 (SOAP: Deuteronomy 30:15-16)
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NLT
Observation:
In our Deuteronomy passage we hear Moses encouraging the Israelites. Were we to listen to the whole “farewell speech” we would hear him reminding the people of all God had done for them and of what He had promised to do for them. Here in this section – what we hear is the reminder that God has set a choice before them – and what He expects their choice to be. They can choose life and prosperity or death and disaster. This makes me think of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in John 10:10, when He told them He had come that the sheep, [believers] might have a rich and satisfying life, but the thief [the ruler of this world] comes to steal, and kill, and destroy – that certainly sounds like death and disaster to me. It also reminds me of Paul’s declaration, in Romans 6:23, that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! Seems to me that while Moses was making a specific speech to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, God, through Christ has made the same offer available to the world today. We can choose the wages of our sins – or – His gracious and merciful gift of eternal life. To put it another way – we can choose Him [God] or the world.
Application: How then should we Live?
Life or death? Prosperity or disaster? God instead of the world? The answer to all of these questions seems crystal clear – doesn’t it? Yet so many have chosen option ‘b’ to each of the questions – even as believers who have chosen life over death by placing our faith in Jesus – we still find it difficult at times to choose option ‘a’ as the answer to the second and third questions. We choose ‘life’ through faith in Christ but then choose the world instead of His ways more often than not. In doing so we forego the prosperous and blessed life and relationship with God that Christ came to give, John 10:10. This kind of living comes with a warning from Matthew’s Gospel, where he recorded the Lord saying, “I never knew you”.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
One other note on this application and the “fire-insured Christian”, a believer with one of his/her feet in heaven and the other running after the world. The verses we find just prior to 21-23 seem to provide another good reminder not to treat salvation like an insurance policy. For rest assured, The Lord will be the one to judge whether or not your ‘policy’ is creditable or not.
So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:17-20 ESV
How then should we live if we want to bear fruit? Since I love a list when it comes to ‘how tos’ and ‘to dos’, let’s make a list so we can see how we are doing …
We should love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. (Mark 12:29-31)
We should walk in His ways, keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances If you’re wondering what Moses meant by the words, according to gotquestions.org they are all Hebrew words referring to commands from God to be obeyed by God’s people regardless of the situation you are in.
We should be enjoying His blessings of life and provision (property, in the case of the Israelites)
Prayer: My Response to God’s Word
Oh LORD, my God – You are to be loved, imitated and obey. Help me to live this way – so that I might find favor in Your eyes and know Your blessing – In Jesus’ name – Amen and Amen!
Your Turn:
What’s your prayer response?
How will you choose to follow God today?
What temptations are you feeling?
What is pulling you away from God and toward the things of the world?
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19 NLT
Observation:
The Genesis Saga
The story in chapter thirty-four turns unexpectedly grim. If you don’t mind a spoiler alert keep reading, but if you haven’t read the story yet stop and read it … You may remember at last count there are eleven brothers and at least one daughter, Dinah, the daughter of Leah. Today’s story begins with her being sexually assaulted while she was meeting the other young women of the land. It is written that the man, Shechem, who assaulted her fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. When Dinah’s brothers learned of the assault they were angry. Their emotions were fueled by righteous indignation and shame. When Shechem’s father approached Jacob and the brothers about marrying Dinah, the brothers “answered deceitfully” and their deceitful plan led to a massacre of Shechem, his father, and every male in the city, by Simeon and Levi – the sons of Leah. They plundered everything in the city including the children and wives. Jacob’s sons did not consider the consequences for themselves or the family – they thought only of what had happened to their sister and their anger took control of them. Revenge comes with a great and terrible price for all involved.
Revenge comes with a great and terrible price for all involved.
Me-From the Inside-out
Our Focus Passage:
This part of Jacob’s story and especially the actions of Simeon and Levi are a perfect segue to our focus passage. The brothers certainly could have benefited from Paul’s instructions to “not repay evil for evil: consider what is good for all people … to live peaceably with all people so far as it depends on you.” Paul goes on to quote a verse from Deuteronomy, “Do not avenge yourselves – but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the LORD.”
Application: How then should we Live?
As followers of Christ, the obvious answer as to how we should live in light of this passage is to not repay evil for evil and to trust that God will take care of the situation. This isn’t easy, in fact it is one of the most difficult callings on a believer – ranking right up there with turn the other cheek (Matt 5:39) and forgive seven times seventy (Matt 18:22). It requires getting rid of anger and malice, being self-controlled rather than emotionally controlled. It requires not leaning on our own understandings that convince us how wrong the situation is and taking it upon ourselves to make it right. Simply put, it requires trusting God will take care of the situation the way He deems best and in His perfect timing. We would also do well to remember that anything we do or say to right the wrong will only bring more problems and heartache. Retaliation of any kind, from swords drawn for a massacre or fingers on a keyboard typing hard and hurtful words to strike back, is wrong and we must resist. Before you say, it’s impossible not to retaliate in some situations – consider 2 Peter 1:3-4 … “God has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His great and precious promises so that we might participate in the divine nature having escaped the corruption of of the world caused by evil desires.” The question is – will we choose God’s way instead of the world’s way?
Prayer: Response to God’s Word
Father, I confess it is so difficult to not retaliate when my loved ones are hurt by others – So thank You for this reminder from Your Word – that even when our anger is justified, You want us to let You handle it. Help us to remember to lean on You and Your strength to resist the urge to pay back evil for evil; and please cause us to consider not just our anger but how Your name and the lives of others will be affected by our actions. In Jesus Name – thank You that you have given us everything we need to choose Your way instead of the world’s – Amen!
Your Turn:
Do you believe God will bring about justice?
In what areas is it difficult for you to wait on and trust in God’s justice?
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NLT
Observation:
Reunited: A glimpse at Jacob and Esau
After twenty plus years and all of the fear and planning Jacob and Esau are finally reunited and reconciled to one another. No longer was there a fear of death or present anger over the other’s past deceit or threat of death. While the scene reveals more of Jacob’s careful, or what I like to call – “just in case” planning, it also reveals a beautiful reunion and open reconciliation.
New Testament Reconciliation
As our focus verse points out – without the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus we would have every reason to live in fear of death like Jacob did. We were God’s enemies according to Paul, in Romans 5:10, when we were restored/reconciled by the death of Jesus.
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
Romans 5;10 NLT
Like Jacob, we have been given a new identity in Christ, the old character is gone and the new is here. It is a gift of God. Not only has He clothed us with the righteousness of Christ, no longer counting our sins against us, but the title ‘Ambassadors for Christ’. He has given us a purpose, a ministry of making His Son known so that others can be reconciled to Him. – Til the whole world knows.
Application: How then should we Live?
We have been made ambassadors for Christ and should live faithfully proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel and what Christ has done for us. We should also faithfully praise Him for laying our sins on Christ and not counting them against us.
Prayer: Response to God’s Word
Father, as Jacob and Esau were reconciled to one another – so You have even more so – reconciled us to You – through Christ. And You no longer count our sins against us because we are new creations in Christ, the old has passed and the new has come! Glory to Your Holy Name!
Your Turn: Personal Reflections
Is there a relationship in your life that needs reconciliation?
What is God prompting you to do as you wait for His perfect timing for the reconciliation?
In the third week of our study, we will watch as Jacob and Esau finally meet up again, there will be trouble over his daughter Dinah, and both tragedy and blessing on his return to Bethel. We will meet Esau’s descendants and be given our first glimpse of Joseph as a teenager. All events will continue to strengthen our understanding and resolve of choosing God instead of the world.
Don’t forget our memory verse from John 14:15
This week’s focus verse(s) will come from day one’s reading of Colossians 3:1-3. A passage that we will see the need for in Jacob’s life story as well as our own.
15 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 16 For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NLT
This Week’s Challenge from the team at Love God Greatly:
Reflect on the events of Jacob’s life you have read so far. Would God have delivered Jacob without Jacob’s shrewd behavior? Did Jacob miss out on the blessing of God’s blessing of God through self-reliance and deception? How did Jacob’s children display the same tendencies of self-reliance and deception?
This week, through the continuing saga of Jacob and his family we have learned the wisdom of setting our mind on Things Above instead of things on the earth that tend to draw us away from God. We have learned how God wants us to honor Him with what He’s given us, even when we aren’t completely satisfied with what that is. We’ve seen the difficulty and yet the benefits of loving others in the way we live and not just by the things we say. Without question, we have seen how we must trust God’s promises if we are going to choose His ways over the ways of the world, especially in times of fear and difficulty. On our final day – probably my favorite – and a great summation of the week – we witnessed God giving Jacob a new name and we learned that sometimes even when we walk away limping from a battle, prevailing can be determined by how long we stay in the battle. Those who hold on to God and don’t let go receive the blessing.
Preview
During our third week we will dive into Genesis 33 and wind up the week in Genesis 37 with the story of Joseph’s dream. , We will hear from authors of the New and Old Testaments along the way – as we continue to explore the ways and benefits of Choosing God Instead Of The World .
If you missed any of the posts you’ll find the links below.
Me From the Inside Out 