Today’s reading is Genesis 41:17-42:17, Matthew 13:24-46, Psalm 18:1-15, Proverbs 4:1-4.

The next leg of Joseph’s life journey certainly brought the humility that Joseph needed.  He spent the next years of his life in slavery. He did have a choice, though.  He could have gotten bitter.  Instead, he not only maintained the seeds of integrity he had learned from his father, he also grew in integrity.  Hardship made him better, more mature, more faithful.  The dreams of his life would eventually come true, but he had to be refined in the fire of trials and tribulations which developed trust in the Lord.

Joseph found himself in an unexpected situation—one in which he could have succumbed to fleshly desire.  He had been sold as a slave to Potiphar, an Egyptian officer.  Because the Lord was with Joseph, he succeeded in everything he did.  Potiphar recognized the hand of God on Joseph and therefore put him in charge of everything he owned.  Because the hand of God was on Joseph, he was a blessing to all around him, even though he was in a position of slavery.  He had favor with God and man, despite his lowly position.  He bloomed where he was planted.

It is therefore a surprise that a terrible temptation came into his life, namely, Potiphar’s wife.  Had God’s hand been removed from Joseph?  No.  The scriptures say nothing about a change in his relationship with God.  So, we must conclude that either the enemy, Satan, sent this temptation or God allowed it because He wanted to test and refine Joseph’s character even more.  Maybe both was true.  Whichever the case, Joseph passed the test with flying colors.  First, he kept away from her as much as possible.  And when that didn’t work, he literally ran away from her, leaving his coat behind.  So, if he did the right thing, why did he still land in jail?  Why did God allow her to lie and mar his stellar reputation?  God did allow this bad situation and it was not because He had moved His hand of favor from Joseph.  God had a bigger, deeper plan.  If we are never in the pit, how can we be certain that God is able and willing to deliver us from it?  If we never have hardship, how can we experience his mercy and grace and peace which passes understanding?  There will be a day when all hardships cease.  It is a day I look forward to.  But until then we will sometimes have troubles.  We will sometimes be falsely accused and misunderstood.  That does not mean that God has failed us.  Jesus Himself warned us this would happen.  In John 6: 33 Jesus said this:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

No matter the hand we are dealt, God will overcome if we trust in Him.  No matter the circumstances we can find peace in Him.

Joseph had a lot of difficult days ahead.  And yet, we see that even in jail, Joseph used the gifts God had given him to glorify God.  In his younger days, he had boastfully told his dreams to his brothers. The emphasis was on him.  But the fiery trials had refined his character.  We see in Genesis 40:8 that even before he heard the dreams of the Pharaoh’s cup bearer and baker, he gave the glory to God.

 “Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied.  “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

Joseph had grown in his dependence on God and lessened his dependence upon himself.  He walked in the giftedness God had given him, but gave all the credit to the Giver of the gift.  And ultimately, this consistent walking in the giftedness God had planted in him, led to his release from prison and set him on a path of redemption for his entire family.

The ungrateful cup-bearer got out of prison and forgot all about Joseph.  How depressing that must have been.  But God stepped in at just the right time.  Notice the details of Pharaoh’s dream.  Seven fat cows, seven scrawny ones; seven head of grain, seven plump heads of grains.  Remember the holy numbers?  Seven is the number for completion and perfection.  Even among a people who did not know God, God was in control.  And God would use ungodly people to save his chosen people.

God can do the same for each of us.  If you feel as if you are in a prison of sorts today, trust in the Redeemer and Restorer to release you in His good timing.  Trust that He is writing a story in your life that is more than you could ever hope or dream or imagine.  (Ephesians 3:20)

Today’s reading is Genesis 39:1-41:16, Matthew 12:46-13:23, Psalm17:1-15, and Proverbs 3:33-35.  At the beginning of Chapter 37, we find that Jacob once again settled in Canaan, where his father had lived.  The word “settled” caught my attention in verse one.  He was finally settled.  He had his 12 sons of promise, had grieved the death of Rachel, and was living in the land God had promised his ancestors.  Life was good.  However, more grief was coming and Jacob had unknowingly contributed to its entrance.

It started with the common problem of sibling rivalry.  With twelve sons, it makes sense that this would be an issue at times.  However, Jacob exasperated the problem greatly by opening preferring Joseph over the others.  He said it was because Joseph was born in his old age.  But he was not that much younger than some of his brothers.  And he was not the youngest.  But at this time, Benjamin would have been very young—maybe even still a baby or a toddler. Not quite old enough to really catch the attention of a busy father.  And even if he had, surely Jacob was grieving the death of Rachel.  Perhaps Benjamin still conjured sorrow, even though Jacob had wisely overridden the connotation of the name.  But Joseph!  He was pure joy.  The long-awaited son by the beloved wife of his youth.  And in his weakness, Jacob openly favored Joseph over all the others.   And as a side note to parents and even grandparents.  This is a bad idea.  A terrible idea.  One that leads to heartache and insecurity.  Thankfully, our heavenly Father loves us equally, as seen by the fact that He sent Jesus for all of us, each of us.  If only one had sinned, He still would have sent Jesus, so precious and individual is His love for us.

But Jacob was human.  Jacob was flawed.  He had grown up with the element of favoritism.  His mother favored him, his father favored Esau.  And he brought those old habits into his own family.  He wove an atmosphere of jealousy within his family, which hit a tipping point when he decided to give Joseph a colorful coat.  This coat would have represented a princely status and should have been reserved for the firstborn.

And Joseph, perhaps having been spoiled by his father since birth, understandably fell into the pattern of a self-centered son.  As we look at yesterday’s reading, we see several negative patterns of behavior coming from Joseph.  Genesis 37:2 we find that Joseph “reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.”  What do you call that?  A tattle-tail.

And then there was the telling of the dreams.  Now, the dreams were from God.  They were prophetic dreams.  And they eventually came true.  But let’s contrast Joseph’s immature reaction when he received a grand prophesy about himself with Mary’s reaction when she received the most amazing news of all—she would give birth to the Son of God and the Savior of the world; the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  She surely could have boasted.  But instead we see humility.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.

“May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.    

Luke 1:38

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

  Luke 2:19

Mary believed and waited.  She believed and acted like a servant.  She believed but she did not boast.  She saw the words of God to her as a treasure and she pondered them.

In contrast, we see 17-year-old Joseph, who was 4 years older than Mary when her prophetic news came and who should have known better, anxious to brag to his brothers and even his father about the whispers of God about his future.  What do you call that?  Arrogance.  An arrogant tattle-tail.  No wonder his brothers didn’t like him.  Their anger was understandable, but so very dangerous.

“When you are angry, do not sin.” (Psalm 4:4)

But even still, there is no excuse for what happened next.  In a mob-type mentality, his brothers—these that were of the 12 sons of promise—hatched a plan that would set in motion a series of events that only God could redeem.  At first they wanted to kill him.  Rueben tried to intervene, but not with the integrity of a righteous one.  He succumbed to peer-pressure and instead of defending Joseph, he simply hatched a different plan.  He was going to go back and make it right, but did not have the opportunity to do so and suffered the consequences greatly for it.  And so it is with us.  Sometimes we plan to go along with sin for a season, thinking we can make up for it later.  Often we can’t, and always there are consequences.

Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, and sold for silver coins. Remember Ishmael?  He was also Abraham’s son, but through the manipulative scheme of an impatient woman.  Sarah gave her servant, Hagar, to Abraham because she was tired of waiting on the Lord’s good plan.  Ishmael was not the son of promise and here the consequences of not waiting on the Lord’s plan shows up two generations later. It is a bit confusing that this tribal group was referred to as Ishmaelites as well at Midianites.  The Midianites were descendants of Midian, a son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2). It is thought that all desert wanderers were referred to as Ishmaelites at the time, and points to intermarrying of the other sons of Abraham.  Regardless, it was the sons born outside of the righteous line who now brought Joseph into slavery.

But God was not finished weaving the story.  Throughout the story of Joseph, throughout the stories told throughout the Bible, for that matter, we see a gracious, patient God weaving a tapestry of redemption.  I am thankful that this is true in my own life, as well.

Today’s reading includes Genesis 37:1:38:30.  However, I am still studying back in Genesis 35-36

After Jacob buried the idols of his household, he moved forward in the directive God had given him to move to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar to God.

6 Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.

                                                                                                            Genesis 35:6-7

“Eventually” (Isn’t that usually the case!  Sometimes it takes a while to see the fulfillment of God’s plan but even the travel and the wait is part of the plan!) Jacob and his household arrived at Bethel, the place where he first met God face to face, now the place where he renewed his relationship with Him.  Jacob built a stone altar and once again called the place “El-Bethel” which meant “God of Bethel”.

And in this time of renewal, God reminded him of some very important things.  God reminded Jacob that had a new name, Israel, which means a prince of God. And then God revealed to Jacob one of His own names, El-Shaddai, which means “God Almighty” or “All-Sufficient One”.  El-Shaddai has a great depth of meaning.  El is the word for God and what follows after is indicative of the nature and character of God.  In the Old Testament El Shaddai occurs 7 times.  (There is that holy number of completion and perfection!)  According to the resources from Blue Letter Bible study references, many scholars believe the word Shaddai is derived from the Hebrew word “shad” which means “breast”, representing nourishment as well as being close the heart, as well as derived from another ancient language, Akkadian, with the word Šadu, meaning “mountain,” suggesting strength and power. This refers to God being completely nourishing, satisfying, and supplying His people with all their needs as a mother would her child. In addition, He is all powerful, the holy One whose strength is all sufficient.  Connected with the word for God, El, this denotes a God who freely gives nourishment and blessing, He is our sustainer and our strength.

And then we see for the third time that God symbolically goes back to the beginning.  He gives the same command to Jacob that He had given to Adam and then to Noah.  “Be fruitful and multiply.”  In future chapters, we will continue to see how Jacob was indeed fruitful and his descendants did indeed multiply.  Abraham and Isaac (and even Adam) each had one son of promise.  But Jacob was a game changer.  At this point he had 11 sons and right after this important event, his twelfth son was born.  Remember the holy numbers?  The number twelve encompasses the family of God, representing all God’s people, and reminds us of the covenant or unending promise of relationship between God and his people. Jacob would have 12 sons of promise, who would become the twelve tribes of Israel.

Before Jacob left Bethel, we see Jacob marking this spot with a stone of remembrance.  He set up the stone and anointed it with oil, which signified the holiness of the moment.  He did the same thing when he first met God at Bethel when he was fleeing from Esau.  This time, he also poured wine on the stone.  Why did he add the poured-out wine?  Perhaps it was a symbol of his wealth and the acknowledgement of the faithful care and prospering the Lord had provided him.  When he first poured out oil on a rock at Bethel, he was all alone, fleeing in fear.  On this second meeting with the Lord, he was surrounded by a large family and an abundance of possessions.  God had indeed been faithful to him and he intended on being faithful to God.

Later, in the days of Moses, drink offerings were required with every bloody sacrifice.  Numbers 28:15 indicates that every bloody sacrifice was to be accompanied by grain and wine offerings. Perhaps Jacob was acting in a prophetic way, not only as a symbol of the future days of Moses, but also pointing toward the Ultimate Bloody Sacrifice, Jesus, the Lamb of God, who Himself declared that the wine represented His blood shed for us.

Whatever the reason, Jacob obeyed God and built the altar.  Some scholars believe that the first altar stone he anointed twenty-years prior would have been inserted into the new stone altar.  This could symbolize his acknowledgement of God’s faithfulness in the past, present, and future.  Jacob would need that symbol of God’s faithfulness, as the next step of his life involved grief.  His beloved Rachel died giving birth.  In her pain and grief she named the baby, Benoni, son of my sorrow.  How wise of Jacob to override that name and call him Benjamin, son of my right hand.  What devastation Benjamin could have endured if he was forever seen as son of sorrow.  Jacob, Benjamin’s earthly father, saw so much more in his son.  The right hand of the father was a place of great honor, not normally given to the last son, but to the firstborn.  And yet Jacob was reflecting the nature of our Heavenly Father.  No matter the sorrow we have endured or caused, He calls us His own, beloved child.  He sent His firstborn away from His right hand for a season, that we may become children of God.  Praise to our El-Shaddai!

Today’s reading is Genesis 35:1-36:43, Matthew 12:1-21, Psalm 15:1-5, and Proverbs 3:21-26.

In today’s reading we find Jacob continuing his journey back home.  And he walks down memory lane when he goes to Bethel, where God had first met and spoken with him when he was fleeing from Esau.  The two accounts have a lot of similarities, yet we see this time Jacob’s reaction to what God said is different.  He is more mature.  He has seen that God is trustworthy.  He has reconciled with his brother and seems more free to listen and carefully follow God’s instruction.  He is not fearful as he was when he stopped at Bethel twenty years prior.  He is not running away; he is heading home.  He is not fleeing in fear; he is going forward with the mission to listen and follow God’s instruction.  Matthew Henry had this to say:

Beth-el was forgotten. But as many as God loves, he will remind of neglected duties, one way or other, by conscience or by providences. When we have vowed a vow to God, it is best not to defer the payment of it; yet better late than never.

God was mercifully taking Jacob back to a place and an experience he had forgotten.  And his return to this place sparked important action.  Let’s look at the verbs in this passage.

Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

2 So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. 3 We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

Get ready, move, settle, build.  There are a lot of things on that to-do list.  And of course, it had to be done in that order.  And what was Jacob’s reaction to God’s instruction of action?  Immediate obedience.  “So Jacob…”  It was a simple response but had a powerful impact on Jacob and his whole family.  Jacob’s simple response was a great act of leadership. He told his whole household and they followed his leadership.  They were going back to Bethel, a place of holy and personal interaction with God.  When Jacob was there before, he was all alone.  But this time he was leading his whole household to this holy place and to a holy experience with the living God.

So, as the leader what did Jacob tell his household?  Look at the verbs in that account.

Get rid of, purify, put on the clean, go, build.  And for what purpose?  To honor God who had been faithful and true.

So, how did they complete these actions?

4 So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem.

They gave it all up.  All the idols they had held on to for so long.  All the earthly, worldly things they had held back from the Lord.  And what is the next action verb?  He buried them.  As unto death.  And so it is with us.  We must bury our idols before we can move on into all that the Lord has for us.  We can’t carry them with us if we want to honor God and go and build the life He is calling us to build.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

                                                                                                            Romans 6:4

What is the significance of Shechem?  This location, in the middle of the nation, provided the most important crossroads in Israel.  Because of its central location and because of the three main crossroads it contained, Shechem saw a lot of traffic in its history. So, Shechem seems to be a great location for many of the patriarchs of our faith.  Shechem had great spiritual significance for Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Joshua.

Let’s take a peek back at Abram’s time at Shechem, and as we go forward in our Bible reading we can recognize the importance when others stop at Shechem.  Genesis 12:6-7 finds Abram continuing on his journey:

            Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Abram was on the road to Bethel, but first he made a pit stop at the great oak at Shechem. This was a famous sanctuary, and a large tree was often a landmark feature at such holy places.  But Abram worshipped God there, not the local false deity.  Many other famous events took place at the oak of Shechem. There the Lord appeared to Abram and confirmed His promise by saying, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7).  This was quite a statement, since in the previous chapter, we found that Sarai was barren.  So how did Abram respond?

            He built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.                                                                                                                                                          Genesis 12:7 

This time at Shechem was a time of renewal of religion.  Abram had already had a “revelation” back in Mesopotamia.  This revelation led to a healthy religion.  Abram believed in God.  But Abram’s journey was not over, just as our journey is not over when we believe in God.  It is not about religion, not even about what we believe.  It is about relationship.  And that is what Abram got a glimpse of when he stopped at Shechem.

And so did Jacob, Abram’s grandson. He led his family in burying the past, the idols, the things upon which they had emotionally depended.  He buried them before he moved on.  What about you?  Is there anything you need to spiritually bury, to lay down and walk away from, so that you may go forward into the good future God has for you.  Bury your idols, honor God, and move forward into great peace, perfect love, and unfailing security.

And what was the result?  They received an extra measure of peace, comfort, and protection.  They walked in an added measure of covering.  Today, ask the Lord if there are any idols in your life which need to be buried unto death, so that you can move forward toward all that God has for you.

Today’s reading includes Genesis 32:13-34:31, Matthew 11:7-30, Psalm 14:1-7, Proverbs 3:19-20.

Jacob had been sent away by Isaac to avoid the revenge of Esau.  He was away for twenty years.  For twenty years, his distance physically allowed him to avoid dealing with the emotional distance between himself and his brother.

But then God said, “Go home.”  God saw that Jacob’s home near Laban was no longer a healthy place to be.  It was time to go home.

Jacob knew he would have to face Esau and made the first move toward him by sending a friendly message. This new, mature Jacob knew to confront with truth and peace rather than to deceitfully manipulate.  But then the fear set in. He found out his estranged brother was heading his way, along with 400 of his men. Instead of ignoring his fear, or fleeing because of his fear, he went to the Lord

Genesis 32:9-11

 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home, and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.

He sent his family on ahead in groups until he was finally alone.  It took him being alone with God before he could really wrestle through who he was, who he had been, and who he was becoming.

Who was the man he wrestled?  Jesus.  This encounter is symbolic of our wrestling in prayer.

Did Jacob win?  Yes, but Jesus led him to victory.  In the night watches.  Alone.  There are many times we need to get alone with Jesus.  Be honest.  Wrestle through the fears and insecurities and doubts.  He is God, the creator of your emotions, your mind.  He can handle it.  He knows it anyway.

Did Jacob really win?  Yes, but his win was because Jesus led him to victory.  Jacob had victory in this process of wrestling with God, coming boldly to the throne of grace, hoping and believing for blessing—for freedom from fear and past, for boldness to step into the future, for grace to be humble enough to reach out to his brother, though both were surely bitter.  After 20 years, it was time.

After the wrestling, came the reminder of the fight.  The injured hip.  Some say it was injured for the rest of Jacob’s days, though there is no mention of it hurting him or handicapping him.  Perhaps it was simply a thorn in the flesh, like Paul had.  A reminder that God’s grace is sufficient for each day and that power is perfected in weakness.  As a child, it concerned me that Jacob won over the Angel of God, who I now know to be Jesus.  Wouldn’t the heavenly always be stronger than the earthly?  Yes, of course.  Unless the heavenly willingly lets the earthly be stronger for a season, for a great purpose.  And so, it was that Jacob fought the One who would one day return to the earth through the seed of Jacob and his descendants.  He let Himself be defeated for a season and for a purpose.  It does not appear that Jacob felt he had actually won something, but rather that he had been allowed to receive a great honor.  As Matthew Henry said, “He (Jacob) does not say, ‘In this place I wrestled with God, and prevailed;’ but, ‘In this place I saw God face to face, and my life was preserved;’ not, ‘It was my praise that I came off a conqueror, but ‘it was God’s mercy that I escaped with my life.’”

26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 “What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

When Jesus, the man, said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking,” it was not due to fear of the light, for He is the light of the world.  The dawn was the start of a new day, the beginning of the rest of Jacob’s life, the first day of his new identity as Israel, the prince of God.  It was time to stop the wrestling and start walking—walking toward reconciliation, walking toward the future God had for him.

When Jacob, now Israel, offered the gifts to Esau, he was relinquishing his right to act like the first-born, to exert his birthright authority over Esau.  He walked forward in humility, which sparked a moment of forgiveness between them.

Esau in his own right had become confident and successful—a prince in Edom territory. He had become a tribal prince, while Jacob had just been declared a prince of God. However, Jacob submitted to Esau and gave him gifts which would normally be the right of the firstborn.  Jacob treated his brother as one would treat a prince.  And he could confidently do so because in his wrestling with the Lord, wrestling with his past, he had truly become a prince of God.  Jacob was now Israel, meaning “prince with God.”  He knew he was and the confidence that brought allowed him to reach out in reconciliation, and be generous to the point of forgoing what was rightfully his.

Now, Esau was still of an unrighteous line.  Who were the Edomites?  Enemies of God’s people.  Ezekiel 35:5 and Amos 1:11 speak of the Edomites’ “perpetual hatred” and “wrath forever” toward Israelites. Esau became the founder of the Edomite nation on the mountains of Seir.  Through his grandson, Amalek, came the Amalekites, who attacked the Israelites at Horeb as they came out of Egypt under Moses (Exodus 17:8.)  The evil Haman, who tried to destroy the entire race of the Jews during the days of Queen Esther, was on Agagite.  Centuries back, King Agag was the ruler of Amalek.  So Agagite was another way of saying he was an Amalekite. Some historians also conclude that King Herod was an ancestor of Esau.

Jacob instinctively had the wisdom to live in peace with his brother, but not be influenced by him. But it appears they were able to forgive, reconcile, and live in peace with each other, which is further revealed by the peaceful interaction when they came together to bury their beloved father.

And think of the blessing that was for Isaac.  Few things break a parent’s heart more than when their children do not love each other.  Estrangement between brothers breaks apart families and especially breaks the heart of the parents.  How precious was God’s faithfulness to Isaac that in the end, his Jacob came home and lived near him, both brothers reconciled and lived in peace, and both came together to honor and grieve the one that held them together—their father Isaac.