Today’s reading includes Genesis 31:17-32:12, Matthew 10:24-11:6, Psalm 13:1-6, and Proverbs 3:16-18.  But my studies today find me back in Genesis 29.  At this point in our study of Jacob we see that he was beginning to mature. He was beginning to change from a self-centered young man to one willing to work hard for others. We are beginning to see fruit from his Bethel experience.

Jacob worked so hard that his uncle Laban came to him and said, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

And then Leah enters the scene for the first time. Take a moment to read Genesis 29: 16-30.

We have already met Rachel. Rachel had stirred in Jacob acts of service and unusual strength. But poor Leah. What do we learn of her as she enters the scene?

1. She was the eldest.

2. She had weak eyes. This information was followed by “but Rachel …,” as in a comparison, which most likely had occurred for most of Leah’s life. “But Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.” Even their names called out to the world their differences: Rachel’s name meant Ewe. Leah’s name? Cow! Now, these types of names were common among a herdsman’s family, but come on! Cow? Poor Leah! I saw a secondary meaning for her name in Hebrew: Tired and weary. A weary and tired cow! Poor Leah!

We can only imagine what that means. Rachel had a beautiful figure, lovely skin, shining eyes. Rachel was beautiful. And in comparison, Leah was not. Did she have a weight problem? Acne? Oddly-shaped body? Seems to me “weak eyes” could be overlooked if she, too, had been lovely in form and beautiful.

What does “weak eyes” mean anyway? Prone to infections? Near-sighted? Far-sighted? Both—like I am now? Obviously in a world without contacts or glasses, that problem would hinder Leah’s contribution to the family. She certainly couldn’t be put in charge of the flocks; they could lose some of their sheep, their livelihood.

Yes, Leah had problems. And we see that the family’s propensity to favor Rachel could not have helped her sense of worth or self-esteem.

What did Jacob want in the payment for all his hard work? He wanted Rachel. It is hard for us to imagine why that would be so complicated. It is after all, a great love story, if we are looking at it only through Rachel and Jacob’s eyes. But it is hard for us to imagine the complexities because we don’t have the same customs and traditions that were so important in that day.

You see, back then, the place of the first-born was very important. First-born children had certain rights and responsibilities and, in turn, privileges. In Jacob’s dealings with his elder brother, Esau, we see that he was prone to try and buck the system. And here he goes again! He asked for Rachel as his wife. He knew that Leah was the eldest. He knew that custom required that the eldest marry first. He didn’t really care about those traditions. He didn’t care about how Leah might feel. He just cared about his love for Rachel. And he would do just about anything to get what he wanted.

So, he offered to work for Laban seven years “for your younger daughter, Rachel.” He knew he was requesting outside the box of tradition. Remember that seven is the number of completion and perfection. Maybe they all thought surely in seven years they could find a husband for Leah. But no! Poor Leah!

And so the one whose name meant Deceiver was himself deceived. The morning after their wedding, he found that he had actually married Leah. Can you imagine how humiliating it must have been for Leah to have to participate in the trick? We find out soon enough that Leah loved Jacob. Her greatest, deepest desire was for him to love her back. But he didn’t. He loved Rachel.

As we read further, we see that this battle between Leah and Rachel for Jacob’s love, attention, and children went on for many, many years. The one thing that Leah did have over Rachel was that she could have Jacob’s children.

When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, He enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.

Genesis 29:31, NIV

We must take note of the three simple words in this verse that are filled with truth and meaning: “the Lord saw.” He saw the situation clearly—all the ins and outs, hurt and deceit, bitterness and pain. He saw it all. And He understood it all. He came to the rescue with great blessing and comfort, but Leah didn’t seem to recognize it. Just like us, Leah’s obsession with what she did not have overruled her enjoyment and acknowledgment of what she did have. We pick up on the truth of this by looking at what she named her children.

Her first-born she named Reuben, which meant “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” (Genesis 29:32)

Her second born was named Simeon, which meant “Because the Lord heard that I am unloved, he gave me this one, too.” (Genesis 29:33)

She named another son, Levi, saying, “At last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” (Genesis 29:34) But it was not to be. The focus of these children was not the children, but the focus was trying to win Jacob’s love. How sad is that?! Then throw in a bitter sister, Rachel, who had the love that Leah so desperately wanted, but didn’t have the children that Leah had. I suspect that both would have traded places with the other, so desperate was their longing for what they didn’t have.

We all know the story. God did give Rachel children eventually, both physically and through her servant. One of her sons, Joseph, was greatly used to fulfill the plan of God on behalf of His people. But the struggle continued between the sisters, back and forth, child after child. In my Sunday School knowledge of Leah, that is where I had always left her: still in the struggle. But if we take the time to study just a little bit, we find that Leah wasn’t so forgotten after all. God was orchestrating a great plan and legacy for Leah. The forgotten one, in the end, was the matriarch. The ugly duckling may not have changed physically, but in the spiritual realm she was greatly honored even above the beautiful Rachel.

How do we know this? Because of the generations that came through her. It was through Leah that the Levites, the holy priests of the Lord, came. And most importantly, it was through Leah that Jesus came. In Genesis 29:35 we find that she had momentary peace when she gave birth to her fourth son. She named him Judah, which means “This time I will praise the Lord.” Period. She basically said, “I will just praise God, without trying to change my circumstances, without trying to make things good and right, without trying to win love. I will just praise.” I believe this peace and praise came because deep in her spirit the Lord was whispering, “With this One, I will make all things new.” And so it was. It was through Judah that Jesus, the Savior, was born.

Even after Judah, Leah struggled back and forth with her desire for human love. But in the end, it was Leah that was buried next to Jacob, just as Isaac was buried with Rebekah and Abraham was buried with Sarah. God saw. And He did something about it. And though it took time to see, He was working all along the way.

Where are you today? Do you relate with Leah’s struggle? Do you want something you can’t seem to obtain? Do you struggle with making idols out of good, God-given things, forgetting that the true God is the giver of those things? Do you feel unloved and misunderstood? God sees. He sees all the complexities of your life and He understands. So like Leah, when she got a tiny glimpse of the Savior to come, why don’t you say, “This time, I will praise the Lord.”

Praise has great power. Angels surround the Throne of God in constant praise saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; Who was and is and is to come.” Let’s praise Him like that, no matter our circumstances, trusting that He sees and has done something about it.

Today’s reading is Genesis 30:1-31:16, Matthew 10:1-23, Psalm 12:1-8, and Proverbs 3:13-15.  However, I am still in the previous chapter, Genesis 29.

As we see in verse 1 of Genesis 29, Jacob continued on his journey after his stop at Bethel and came to the land of the eastern people. Stop for a moment and read Genesis 29:1-14.

As Jacob was on his journey, he saw a well in a field. He was alert enough on his journey to see. He could have passed on by. He could have been looking down, feeling sorry for himself, thinking of his sore feet and heavy load. He could have given up and turned back. But he didn’t. He looked and he saw. What did he see? He saw a well. This watering hole was very significant considering his location. He was in the desert. Water in the desert comes few and far between. Water in the desert is more appreciated, more valuable, more enjoyable than water along the fertile roads.

I believe in these first verses we see significant symbolism, which we can drink for ourselves. First of all, on our spiritual journey, we must ask ourselves: Do we recognize the watering holes? Do we look and see the places along our journey that God provides for us to be refreshed? Do we realize He longs to quench our spiritual thirst? Will we stop at the wells along the way, or will we walk on by?

Maybe it is a Bible study, corporate or personal.

Maybe it is church involvement or Christian accountability with Christian friends.

Maybe it is worship in singing and praise and prayer, both corporate and private.

Maybe it is taking a break from the daily grind to stop and see the blessings around us … the blue skies, the refreshing wind before a summer storm, the unexpected flowers and smells, and even parking places close to the store.

It is my strong belief that it is all of the above that God lovingly brings our way as we walk down our life’s path. But will we look and will we see? Or will we keep our head down, rush from activity to activity, and complain and whine all along the way, saying, “Where’s God?!”

At the well, Jacob saw three flocks of sheep.  The fact that there were three flocks gives us a clue that God was up to something.  Remember that the number three is symbolic of holy perfection.What Jacob saw next was also symbolic of what was to come—a faint but significant thread in the tapestry God was weaving.

He saw a large stone.

A large stone, which covered the source of refreshment and nourishment that the sheep had to have in order to live.

A large stone that needed to be rolled away.

In verse three we find that when all the flocks were gathered—in other words, at just the right time—the shepherds rolled away the stone and watered the sheep.  This water provided life for the sheep.  Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

Do you see where I am going with this?  Jesus is referred to as the Great Shepherd.  We are referred to as the sheep of His pasture.

Romans 5:6 tells us that at just the right time, Christ, the Great Shepherd, died for us, the sheep of His pasture.  Jesus is referred to as the living water, and in John 4:14 He said,

            But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life. (Amplified Bible)

Only Jesus can offer us this eternal and abundant life-giving spiritual water.  He can offer this to us because He rolled away the stone at His death and resurrection.

             But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

                                                                               Mark 16:4

But this simple passage in Genesis was before the final triumphant rolling took place.  Genesis 29:3 says, “When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.” This verse brings us back to Jacob’s present reality that in this story, the stone had to return to its place over the well.  The storyline was just being written, the tapestry still being woven. Jesus hadn’t come yet, but it was a glimpse.

Jacob then inquired of these earthly shepherds and found that they were from Haran. His rest stop along the journey had finally come! Little did he know that reaching his goal along the journey was not the end, only the beginning.

And so we should glean a valuable truth from this. We think “if only” I could get to this point in my life. “If only” I could achieve this goal or that dream. I am all for planning and having God-given dreams and goals. I have an abundance of them myself. But we must realize that the joy is in the journey. And it’s not over till we are over, and God is constantly writing our story and weaving His plan. This truth will help us to keep our dreams and goals from becoming idols.

What is an idol? An idol is anything that becomes the ultimate thing.  People, family, children, jobs, money, beauty, power … all can become idols.  A clean house can become an idol.  Perfectly behaved children can become an idol.  A relationship can become an idol.  Exercise or food can become an idol. Work, money, power, fame, can all become idols.  Anything other than God that becomes the ultimate thing is probably an idol.  Does that hurt?  It hurt me to write it.  Several things came to my mind that I need to examine to make sure I haven’t turned them into idols.  It is easy for good, even godly, things to become idols.  But God had some pretty strong things to say about idols.  So many of the renewed covenants of God’s people involved turning away from idols.

Now let’s look at Genesis 29:9-10 again:

            While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.

                                                                                                 Genesis 29:9-10

What prompted his action?  He looked upon her with love; he saw her as family.  His response was an act of service, and not a simple one.  The NIV Study Bible says that Jacob’s action was “a feat of unusual strength for one man because the stone was very large.”

How ironic that the seed within him would eventually produce Another who would look on us with love, see us as family, and with extraordinary, unusual strength, roll away the ultimate stone.  Yes, Jesus was in the lineage of Jacob.  And what is our response to this?  Should we not look on others with love, see them as family members, and come to their rescue with unusual acts of service?  This is how we act like Jesus.  Today, ask the Lord what He would have you to do this week to love others.

Today’s reading is Genesis 28:1-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, and Proverbs 3:11-12.  As we continue our study of the difficult twins, Jacob and Esau, we find them in the aftermath of the blessing debacle. We find that Esau was now scrambling to make up for all the indifference he had shown toward his family.  Genesis 28:8 says, “It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women.”  There is no telling how many times he had been told that.  But he wouldn’t listen.  It was only when he began to suffer the consequences of his squandering that he began listen.  But instead of really listening, he began to scramble.  Verse 9 tells us that Esau’s answer was to scramble and find a wife that may be acceptable.  But his scrambling to make it right did not make it right.  He visited his uncle Ishmael and requested to marry one of his daughters, in addition to the Canaanite women he already had.  So, in all points he was now attached and aligned with the unrighteous branch of the family line.  (Remember Noah’s proclamation about the Canaanites?  Remember the story of Ishmael?)  And time will show us that his unwise and unrighteous scrambling to make it right in his own way, led to many problems in future generations.

As for Jacob, he began to run.  He fled from Esau, who wanted to kill him, literally. Let’s look at Genesis 28:10-22:

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and He said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

He lay down to sleep, most definitely weary from the journey and weary from the deception. As he slept, he had a dream. In this dream, he saw a stairway. Now, in the old Sunday school/campfire songs we sang that it was a ladder. “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder….” But it wasn’t a ladder with rungs; it was more like a ziggurat with sloping stair sides. It was what the people were trying to build in the Tower of Babel. Of course, what we learned from that story was that we can’t get to God on our own. Our access to God through faith in Christ is a gift from Him, which we accept as ours. This stairway that Jacob saw was symbolic of an invitation. It was an invitation from the God of the universe to deceitful Jacob—the Lord offering to become Jacob’s God. On this stairway to heaven, Jacob saw angels ascending and descending on it. This was also acknowledged by Jesus in John 1:47-51:

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Look at verse 51 again: “You shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” When Jacob had his dream, he saw a stairway—the way to heaven. Angels were ascending and descending on the stairway. Jesus said that angels would ascend and descend on the Son of Man. Who is the Son of Man? Jesus! Why would angels ascend and descend on Him? Because He is the stairway! He is the bridge between earth and heaven, between God and man. He is the only Way, Truth, and Life! Once again, we see the foreshadowing of Jesus in this invitation between God and man. We all are extended that invitation! If you are a Christian, you have received and accepted His invitation. But even as Christians the Lord continues to extend many invitations to us. He invites us to share in His work, to spend holy time together, to experience the blessing of obedience and to walk by faith and not by sight. He invites us to lay down our burdens and follow Him. He invites us to abundant life. Today, will you accept His invitation?  Will you quit all the scrambling to make it right by yourself? God extends His invitation through Jesus to be Lord of your life and the blessed controller of all things.  That is an invitation we can’t afford to ignore.

Today’s reading includes Genesis 26:17-27:46, Matthew 9:1-17, Psalm 10:16-18, Proverbs 3:9-0.

Isaac, the promised child.  We know about his birth—finally, a son born to Abraham and Sarah!  We know about his youth—the object of sacrifice, though spared by God Himself.  We know about his adulthood—married Rebekah, who was unable to have children.  Isaac married when he was 40 years old (there’s that holy number of cleansing and preparation!)  and he pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife.  The Lord answered and Rebekah gave birth to twins!  The Lord gave a clue as to the troubles which lay ahead in Genesis 25:23

“And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations.  From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals.  One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”  Even in the womb, the brothers struggled against each other.  And the struggle continued throughout their lifetime, though in the end, they seemed to make peace with each other.”

 The story of Jacob and Esau was always confusing to me as a child.  I knew that Jacob was the chosen one.  God made that clear before they were born.  But I felt sorry for Esau.  I knew that the way Jacob tricked Isaac was wrong, and it was confusing to me that his mother, Rebekah, helped with the deception.  Honestly, it still is confusing.  But I have learned a few more things about the story since my Sunday school days. You see, Jacob was a deceiver. But Esau was a squanderer.  Esau was so wrapped up in what he wanted to do–hunting, fishing, and hanging out with the local Canaanite girls–that he didn’t seem to care much about the traditions of that time or of his family.

In the traditions of those days, the oldest son had a lot more privileges than the younger son did.  Esau was going to receive a lot more honor and material things when Isaac died.  But he didn’t seem to care about that.  One day, Esau told Jacob that if he would just give him a bowl of soup, he would give Jacob all of the rights of the first-born position.  That was not very wise of Esau, because Jacob did not forget the promise that Esau made. So, yes, Jacob was a deceiver, but he was not a thief.  Esau willing gave up his birthright for a bowl of soup.  Maybe that is why Rebekah was willing to help Jacob in the deception.  God had told her that Jacob would be in the higher place of honor, and Esau had willing squandered that place.

When I was young, I also wondered why Isaac did not just “take it back”.  Why did he not just make his words null and void and say the same thing over Esau.  Now, I don’t know all the traditions of the day.  But I have learned that in the rules of blessing, once given, it cannot be revoked.  But it can be mitigated—made less severe or painful.  To Esau’s painful plea, “Bless me—me too, my father… Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!”

And his earthly father did dig deep within himself and find another blessing to give to Esau.  He spoke of the reality to come and of hope at the end of the struggle.

“Your dwelling will be

    away from the earth’s richness,

    away from the dew of heaven above.

You will live by the sword

    and you will serve your brother.

But when you grow restless,

    you will throw his yoke

    from off your neck.”

Genesis 27:39

What is the lesson for us?  Both of these twins were sinful and selfish.  But there is a Redeemer to right all wrongs.  As we go through the Old Testament, we see each one glimpsing the consequences of their sin.  Have you been a deceiver?  I know we all do sometimes.  A glance at the perfect pictures and posts on Facebook make us all deceivers at times.  Let us repent.  Have you been a squander?  Have you squandered and ignored God’s blessings and calling on your life?  You may have missed out on some of the wonderful things God intended for you, however, if an earthly father can find another blessing for his wayward son, I know our perfect Heavenly Father can, too.

Jacob’s deception is what pushed him out the door and forced him to be on the road to Bethel, an important location in biblical days. He was actually running away from the consequences of his deceitfulness, but even in this, God worked His good plan. As Jacob was running from his self-inflicted troubles, he stopped for the night at Bethel. And tomorrow, we will learn more about how God got the attention of Jacob, the deceiver.

Today’s reading is Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, and Proverbs 3:7-8; but I confess my studying is still in Genesis 23.  There, we find Abraham in a sad moment.  Sarah, his beloved wife, the mother of his child of promise, had died.  They were in the land of Canaan when it happened, specifically at Hebron.  Hebron is mentioned 87 times in the Bible, and is the world’s oldest Jewish community.  We find out in Joshua 21 that Hebron was given to the Levites, the priests, and later God Himself gives Hebron to king David as the capital of his kingdom (2 Samuel 2:1).  Hebron is also known as one of the cities of refuge, a place where one could run to safety if they accidentally killed a man.

It was there Abraham mourned.  This is the first recorded moment in the Bible in which a man shed tears.  He mourned for the one he loved and it was right for him to do so.  It is right to mourn when we lose those things that are precious to us.

He went to the leaders of that area and said, “Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you.  Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.”  Abraham had earned a reputation of respect throughout the land.  The leaders replied, “Listen, my Lord, you are an honored prince among us.  Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there.  No one here will refuse to help you in this way.”

But Abraham refused.  He did not refuse out of pride.  He bowed low before them, indicating his respectful stance.  Scholars have many opinions as to why he refused.  Some say it was because he was a wealthy man and it was right and just for him to pay the full price.  He would not accept a handout when he had the ability to pay. In the end, Abraham paid an exorbitant price, 400 pieces of silver—the full price of the land and the cave in which he buried Sarah.

Abraham’s insistence upon paying the full, outrageous price could also have been another moment of realizing he could not be beholding to the Canaanites, lest they rule over him.

Matthew Henry points out that this was the first piece of property Abraham owned in the land God had promised.  He is referred to as a foreigner and stranger until this moment of purchase, but never after.  When you own land in a region, you earn the right be a legitimate part of the area.  He had finally invested in the land God had promised him.

Keith Krell, an associate professor at Moody Bible Institute, had this to say:  “It took a death for Abraham to begin possessing God’s promises. We possess the riches of God by our death with Jesus Christ (Eph 2:3-7). We must live daily with a view of death (Gal 6:14; Luke 9:23).”

It takes death to tap into the promises of God.  It is ironic that Abraham had to buy that which was already his.  In fact, the whole land was his—promised and given by God.  And yet, his buying what was already his is reflective of what God did on our behalf.

Colossians 1: 16 tells us, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…”  If you create something, it is rightfully yours.  The whole earth and everything in it is rightfully God’s. And yet, He bought back what was already his with the greatest payment of all—the blood of Jesus.  And once that payment is applied to His people, nothing can snatch them away.  It is rightfully His.  We are rightfully His when we place our trust and faith in the blood of Jesus and his resurrection–the full, outrageous payment.

Yes, it takes death to tap into the promises of God.  God promised in Genesis 3:15 that a Savior would come to crush the head of Satan.  But it took a death to tap into that promise.  The death of Jesus.  We, too, can tap into the many promises of God, but it will take a death on our part—dying to sin, dying to self.

Sometimes it takes a death to fully understand the promises of comfort and strength and peace that passes understanding.  If we don’t understand our need of those things, we can’t fully experience them.  Reach out to God in your grief, whether large or small grief.  You will find Him faithful.  Jesus died so you may experience this and all the promises of God.

Tapping into these promises during your days of death, when you are walking in the shadow of the valley of death, is an investment in your spiritual future.  You will know where to go when other griefs come.  You will own the promises and can go back and tap into them time and time again.

Abraham now owned a tiny piece of the land promised to him.  And this ownership would grow over time, throughout the generations.  It was in this land Abraham was also buried.  It was in this land Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah were buried.  The most important patriarchs and matriarchs of our faith were buried in that tiny plot of land that Abraham paid full price for.

Our faith, especially when we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death, is an investment into our future generations.  Just as a seed is buried before it can grow into a fruitful planting, so in every grief, God can bring about great glory, great fruitfulness for the future.

It is appropriate that our patriarchs of faith were buried in Hebron, the city of refuge.  For it is by faith that we, too find our refuge in Christ alone.  We, too, are guilty of manslaughter, as our sins killed Jesus.  And yet, He has paid the exorbitant price to save us and be our refuge.

The beautiful lyrics of Death Was Arrested, by North Point Insideout, sum up the truth and joy of Christ has done for us:

Alone in my sorrow dead in my sin

Lost without hope with no place to begin

Your love made a way to let mercy come in

When death was arrested and my life began

Ash was redeemed only beauty remains

My orphan heart was given a name

My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance

When death was arrested and my life began

Oh your grace so free

Washes over me

You have made me new

Now life begins with you

It’s your endless love

Pouring down on us

You have made us new

Now life begins with you

Released from my chains I’m a prisoner no more

My shame was a ransom he faithfully bore

He cancelled my debt and he called me his friend

When death was arrested and my life began

Our savior displayed on a criminal’s cross

Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost

But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand

That’s when death was arrested and my life began

That’s when death was arrested and my life began

Oh we’re free free

Forever we’re free

Come join the song

Of all the redeemed

Yes we’re free free

Forever amen

When death was arrested

and my life began