A Hopeful Hike

July 6, 2023 at 2:06 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments
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Do you like walking? Unless we are doing it for exercise or leisure, we generally try to avoid doing too much of it. You might walk around your neighborhood or take a walk in the park, or you might go hiking in the mountains or in the woods while you’re on vacation, but I doubt many people relish the idea of having a job where they would have to walk a long distance to get to work each day. If we had to walk to visit our relatives in another state instead of driving or flying, they probably wouldn’t see too much of us.

In Bible times, though, walking was the chief means of transportation. There were no airplanes or trains or cars or even bicycles, and few people possessed or owned the type of animal you could ride. The very first time that the word for walking appears in the Bible is in Genesis 3:8 where Adam and Eve heard God walking in the cool of the day and they tried to hide from Him because they had sinned against Him and didn’t want to see Him. This implies that walking away from God or apart from God means that sin is present. This makes sense, because the next time the Bible talks about someone walking is:

And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

Genesis 5:22

Enoch’s walk with God was more than just putting one foot in front of the other and perambulating around the country. Let’s get a little background on Enoch:

16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: 17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

Genesis 5:16-17

Jared was a descendant of Adam, through the line of Seth (as opposed to Abel or Cain).

18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: 19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. 21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

Genesis 5:18-22

Some people will say that the birth of Enoch’s first son, Methuselah, when Enoch was 65, changed his life, and THEN he began to walk with God, but the Bible doesn’t really say whether he was walking with God already or not. Just because he walked with God after Methuselah was born doesn’t mean he didn’t also walk with God before he was born. We don’t really know for sure.

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Hebrews 11:5

Enoch walked with God because he hoped to be with God forever. Don’t get the idea that, because the act of physical, literal walking (one of the first milestones in a baby’s life) is easy, walking with God, in the spiritual, figurative sense, is easy, or that it is common in this world. The Bible says that Enoch “had this testimony:” His walk with God PLEASED God. The people of Enoch’s day testified that Enoch was different. He lived differently. In a world of violence, lying, immorality, and lack of fear of God, he stood out.

The amazing thing about Enoch’s walk with God was not that Enoch was strong enough or fast enough or persistent enough to keep up with God. The astonishing thing is that God would slow down and walk with Enoch! Imagine a loving and patient father walking and carefully holding his child’s hand in a dangerous area – or in a peaceful setting.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

No one seeks God unless God causes them to seek Him (Romans 3:10-12), but when God gives that desire, he rewards those who do it diligently. Enoch’s walk with God implies that he was God’s friend, and God shares his secrets and reveals His will to His friends.

One thing that God revealed to Enoch was a certain prophecy. We don’t really learn any of the details of what the Lord revealed to Enoch until near the end of the Bible in the Book of Jude:

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Jude v.14

The “these” are what we call false prophets: people who say things about God that aren’t true, or people who claim that God told them something that He didn’t really tell them. These false prophets sometimes seem like they are successful, persuading false converts and open sinners of their lies, but they will NOT have the last word. They were judged in Genesis in a worldwide flood of death and destruction, and the ones who are doing it today will also be judged and condemned.

Watch the repetition of the word “ungodly” in the next verse, and imagine Enoch, walking with God, trying to be like God – just, honest, loving, and righteous – seeing everybody walking in the opposite direction:

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Jude v.15

Enoch walked with God closely enough to know that there would be consequences for walking away from God, or walking against God, so he warned people about God’s judgment.

One day, after Enoch had been walking with the Lord for over three and a half CENTURIES, here is what happened to him:

23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Genesis 5:23-24

Remember, we saw in Hebrews 11:6 that God rewards those who not only believe that He’s real, but who diligently seek Him. He rewards them with His presence by causing them to find Him even in the temporal realm, but there is a greater degree of reward in eternity. Among Bible characters, Enoch can’t be truly said to be unique in this respect, but he is almost unique: He was one of only two people in the history of the world – so far – that went from this world to be with the Lord in Heaven, without dying on the way there. (Elijah was the other one – in a chariot, in a whirlwind of fire.)

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Hebrews 11:5

There was Enoch – walking with God – and the next instant he was gone. He didn’t get sick and die. He wasn’t injured or killed. God just took him. He vanished from this world. He was “not found” – which indicates somebody was looking for him: maybe his family, maybe even those to whom he had prophesied concerning the judgment of God. Enoch’s disappearance is a picture of rapture before tribulation – or a least before judgment and destruction (see I Thessalonians 4, which starts with the idea of walking and culminates in the rapture). We may not be translated the way Enoch was (or we may, when Jesus comes back), but the idea of being translated (being instantly changed and removed from one realm to the other by someone more powerful than ourselves) is applied to us in Colossians 1:13 where it says that those who have been born again have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Do you have this hope? Are you walking with God, hoping in the promise of His eternal presence, His infallible prophecies, and His future reward?

Equipped to Eat Meat?

April 13, 2020 at 8:23 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
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Question: If God designed us and He designed animals to be our food, then why are humans so ill-equipped to eat meat?

Answer: I’m not sure I agree with your premise. Although most humans do not have claws or fangs or venom or the sort of speed, strength, or stealth that compares well with many predatory animals, we do still seem fairly well-equipped to capture and consume animals, with our superior intelligence, as well as teeth capable of chewing. Certainly, for most of us, our bodies do well processing protein and turning it into fuel.

In any event, the original human beings, Adam and Eve, before sin entered into the world, were limited to a vegetarian diet (Genesis 1:29-30, 2:9). It was only after the Noahic flood that God authorized the eating of animals by humans (Genesis 9:1-3), but, when it happened, there is no doubt that the people were well-equipped to domesticate, catch, kill, eat, and digest the animals for which they had an appetite.   

 

Did God Have to Go Down and See?

September 27, 2019 at 10:24 am | Posted in Q&A | 8 Comments
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Question: My question is about Genesis 18:20-21: “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” If God knows everything, and if He is omnipresent, why did He have to “go down and see” Sodom and Gomorrah?

Answer: First of all, we need to determine if these verses are setting forth a clear precept about the nature of God. Since Genesis 18 is a section of the Bible that is written in the genre of historical narrative, rather than a sermon on the attributes of God, we must balance it against other Bible verses, especially those that speak directly about the question of what God knows in a general way.

For example, Job 37:16 says, “Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” Not only is the Book of Job considered wisdom literature, but here God Himself is addressing the question of His own knowledge directly. To be perfect in knowledge is to be complete – to lack no knowledge whatsoever.

Another example is Psalm 139:1-4: “O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.” Psalm 139 is specifically about how God knows all our thoughts, “ways,” behavior, actions, and even our words before we say them.

So, if we apply this to Sodom, God knew more than the general condition of Sodom. He knew everything that each individual was doing and thinking and saying – and why they were doing it! Psalm 147 is perhaps the most explicit precept concerning God’s omniscience: “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5). This means that God possessed all knowledge about Sodom from all eternity, but it also raises the question: Why is He making it sound in Genesis 18 like He’s not omniscient?

The answer is that God often uses anthropomorphism to describe His actions: anthropos = man; morph = form. Anthropomorphism means “man-form.” It is when the Bible describes God as a character in the narrative using human terms that help us understand His point of view. In Genesis 18 it helps us to understand how seriously God took the sin of Sodom, and how much He immanently (not just transcendently) cares about the events of this world. It also records God’s way of letting Abraham understand His thinking, since these statements are part of an actual dialogue between the Lord and Abraham.

Another reason for the statement that God would “go down to see” Sodom and Gomorrah is to let us know that this was a type of Theophany (or perhaps even Christophany): an instance where God appeared to humans in bodily form. God wanted to have a personal visit with Abraham, who was called “the friend of God.” This establishes the trust the God had placed in Abraham’s faithfulness, which will be a key later in the Genesis narrative to understanding the Lord’s testing of him with Isaac.

Beware the Foretaste of Fatality

September 27, 2013 at 10:53 am | Posted in The Fives | 11 Comments
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The first man lived a long time under a death sentence.

And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Genesis 5:5

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden by disobeying God and eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he knew the consequences.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 2:16-17

So why did Adam not die that very day? Some Bible scholars believe that God withheld the execution of the death sentence out of pure mercy. Under this theory Adam may have received a nine-century reprieve. Others believe that when God said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” He was referring to the spiritual death into which all humanity is now born (“dead in trespasses and sins”), even though Adam might not have taken it that way at the time. Furthermore, “that day” Adam did die in a sense: His death was assured and he began to be subject to the aging process, disease, and fatal injuries. I fall into the latter category of commentators, being of the opinion that God did not “change His mind,” but, either way, God made sure that Adam (and Eve) no longer had access to the Tree of Life.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Genesis 3:24

Nobody relishes the thought of a trip to the doctor which culminates in the pronouncement, “You have X amount of time left to live.” Adam received a great gift of grace from God to have his execution delayed by hundreds and hundreds of years, but we have to wonder if he felt strong pangs of guilt and regret every time another human being around him bit the dust, so to speak.

We tend to think of our own mortality when we attend a funeral, see a hearse drive by, watch a tragic story on the evening news, or have a “close call” with a speeding semi truck. We might be better off, though, if we made a permanent mental connection with our death and its ultimate cause: sin. No person can be righteous enough in his or her own power to earn eternal life, but those who have already received this glorious gift from the Savior ought to think soberly about the connection between sin and death, and ought to strive to resist the temptation to sin.

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21 (emphasis added)

Genesis

August 5, 2011 at 10:32 am | Posted in Genesis | 1 Comment
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When a new Christian asks his pastor where he should begin reading in his Bible, the answer will often be the Gospel of John (4th Book in the New Testament), and I agree: that is a good place to start. However, I think all new Christians should also try to read the Book of Genesis very early on in their Christian walk. It contains the blueprint for all that is to come later in the Bible, it gives us invaluable information about exactly Who God is, and it tells us how we human beings originated. At times it reads like a terse historical narrative and at other times like a torrid novel, but it is completely reliable, factual, and inspired by God Himself.

I have enjoyed posting a series of brief lessons on the Book of Genesis, for which I have provided links below:

1. Universe or Multiverse?
2. Catechism Question 1
3. Catechism Question 4
4. The World’s First History Book
5. Augustine Wanted People to S.W.I.M. with the Monsters of the Deep (Genesis 1)
6. The Biblical View of Marriage (Genesis 1:27-28, 2:21-24)
7. Equipped to Eat Meat? (Genesis 1:29-30, 2:9, 9:1-3)
8. Where to Find Yourself
9. Marriage Should Not be Spurious (Genesis 1-2)
10. The Devil’s Math (Genesis 2-3)
11. Mercy and Charlie (Genesis 2:7-8,18)
12. I’m Just Sayin’ 8 (Genesis 2:18)
13. A Glorious Marriage (Genesis 2:18)
14. The Founding Father
15. A Fake in the Grass
16. You Can’t Get Blood from a Turnip *
17. What Is Lying at Your Door?
18. How the Fallen Are Mighty
19. Beware the Foretaste of Fatality
20. A Hopeful Hike (Genesis 5:16-24)
21. Falling, Flooding, and Facing Facts
22. Their Ark Was Bigger than Their Bite
23. Men Rise and Fall, but the Lord Reigns Forever
24. Children Need to Know that Death Is Real (Genesis 6-9)
25. The Big Cover-Up
26. We’ve Come a Wrong Way
27. The Great “I AM” Announces the Great “I WILL”
28. Getting a Lot Out of the World
29. Being At-TENT-ive to God
30. Home Is Where Your Lord Is
31. “Aman” of Faith
32. The Internal War
33. The Top Story in Sodom (Genesis 17-19)
34. Did God Have to Go Down and See? (Genesis 18)
35. As Good as Dead (Genesis 20-21)
36. Tested Faith Is Strong Faith (Genesis 22)
37. Abraham and Isaac Receiving Christ in a Figure (Genesis 22)
38. Spiritual Lessons Found in Historical Accounts
39. A Match Made in Heaven Part 1
40. A Match Made in Heaven Part 2
41. Anybody Can Be Profane
42. The Scientific Method
43. Lord, Leader, and Ladder
44. Shove at First Sight
45. The Name Game
46. Choosing the Right Watering Hole
47. The God-Mastered Man
48. The Men Who Worked on Skyscrapers
49. The Dangers of Fatherhood
50. The Son of Suffering and Glory
51. The Best Representative of a Generation
52. The Down Side of being the Favorite Son
53. Beware of Fabrics, Frolicking, and Friends
54. Don’t Get Too Attached to Your Coat
55. The First Interpreter
56. That’s Good. No, that’s Bad.
57. Jesus and Joseph and Their Brethren
58. The Recognition Admonition
59. Check Your Sack Before Jesus Comes Back
60. Nominative Repetition: Warning and Comfort
61. The Real “First Thanksgiving:” The Pilgrims Meet the Egyptians
62. Why the Thigh? (Genesis 47:29; 32:25; 24:2-3; 46:26; Exodus 1:5)
63. The Redeemer Is Prophesied
64. The End of the Beginning

*most read post in series

The End of the Beginning

July 7, 2011 at 2:12 pm | Posted in Genesis | 7 Comments
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Jacob was 130 when he met Pharaoh. He lived to be 147. He had his beloved son, Joseph, living with him for the first 17 years of Joseph’s life, and for the last 17 years of his own life.

Jacob’s father, Isaac, lived to be 180. Abraham lived to be 175. Jacob “only” lived to be 147!

And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.

Genesis 47:13-16

Joseph saved Egypt, but his administrative plan took away the people’s possessions. He centralized the Egyptian government and made the people slaves to Pharaoh.

And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

Genesis 47:24-25

By the end of the famine Pharaoh owned all the possessions (livestock), land, and people. This helps to explain how the Jewish people ultimately became slaves in Egypt.

Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own sons.

The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Genesis 48:16, emphasis added

Jacob had experienced much evil, but he recognized that he was on his way home. “The Angel” may be a reference to Jesus Christ.

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

Genesis 48:17

This is another reversal of the birth order, which is something God had done a number of times before in showing favor to the younger over the elder: Abel over Cain; Isaac over Ishmael; Jacob over Esau; Joseph over Reuben; Rachel over Leah; Zarah and Pharez (Judah’s sons by Tamar).

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

Genesis 48:18

The life story of Joseph is a big part of the Book of Genesis, and it speaks volumes about the character of Joseph that this may be the only instance recorded in sacred Scripture of Joseph being displeased with anyone.

In Genesis Chapter 49 Jacob blesses his sons and prophesies over them and the future of their tribes.

Reuben, the firstborn, lost the blessings of being the firstborn.

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Genesis 49:4

How is water unstable? (1) It takes the shape of its surroundings. (2) It is affected by the temperature. Reuben had been to bed with his father’s wife.

Simeon and Levi lost a large part of their blessings because of the incident with the circumcision and slaughter of the Shechemites.

Joseph’s inheritance (and the inheritance of his sons who were now Jacob’s sons) is listed in Verses 22-26. The word “bless” or “blessings” is used six times in these Verses:

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Genesis 49:22-26

In Genesis Chapter 50 there are three burials.

Jacob’s burial:

For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

Genesis 50:13

Joseph’s burial:

And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father’s house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

Genesis 50:22

So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Genesis 50:26

The burial of the past:

So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Genesis 50:17-21

The Redeemer Is Prophesied

June 6, 2011 at 11:01 am | Posted in Bible Studies, Genesis | 32 Comments
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I am now getting near the end of a long series of posts on the Book of Genesis. Since Genesis is the first book of the Bible, it has been fun to point out several things, ideas, or words, which occur for the first time in Genesis. We have seen the first plants and animals, the first man and woman, the first marriage, the first sin, the first murder, the first song, the first tears, the first rain, and the first interpreter.

Now we will look at the first time a very special Bible word is used in Scripture: “redeemed.”

The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Genesis 48:16

The Hebrew word is ga’al, and it means “to buy back,” or “to pay the price to set someone free from slavery.” When a sinner trusts Jesus Christ as his Savior, he is set free from the slavery of sin.

The concept of redemption is a key to understanding God’s plan of salvation, and it is a concept about which the Lord has much to say in the Bible. Below is a brief study guide on the Biblical concept of redemption:

Q. What was the price of redemption?
A. The precious blood of Christ. (I Peter 1:19)

Q. Can it be paid for with something else of value?
A. No, silver and gold are corruptible (I Peter 1:18), but the blood of Christ is incorruptible.

Q. To what were we enslaved?
A. Sin – such as serving divers lusts, hating one another, living in envy, living for self (Titus 3:3), and to vain conversation or empty living. (I Peter 1:18)

Q. What are we set free to do?
A. To serve the Lord diligently, not to be slothful or lazy. (Romans 12:11)

Q. Who is the Redeemer?
A. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Colossians 1:13-14)

Q. How did the Redeemer first appear?
A. As a young child. (Luke 2:25-40)

Q. How does the Redeemer continue to work?
A. As a Mediator. (Hebrews 9:14-15 and Job 9:32-33)

Q. How long does redemption last?
A. Redemption is eternal. (Hebrews 9:11-12)

Q. How long will the Redeemer last?
A. He always has been, always is, and always will be: “He lives” (perpetual present tense). (Job 19:25)

Q. Redemption sets our bodies free from the slavery of sin, but what about our souls?
A. The price has been paid for our eternal souls to be set free. (Psalm 34:22)

Q. How should being redeemed make us feel?
A. Our lips and souls should sing and rejoice. (Psalm 71:23)

Q. Do we deserve redemption?
A. No, God’s mercy allowed our redemption. (Psalm 44:26)

Q. Can anyone other than Jesus be powerful, influential, or wealthy enough to redeem me?
A. No, true redemption is through Christ alone. (Psalm 49:6-9)

Q. How much time is there before it is too late to be redeemed?
A. The offer of redemption is for a limited time only – you must by faith receive Jesus, and trust in the price He paid, before you die and before He comes back. (Hebrews 9:27 and Luke 21:27-28)

Q. Should we keep quiet about our redemption?
A. No, the redeemed of the Lord should say so. (Psalm 107:2)

Q. What is the role of the Holy Spirit in redemption?
A. He seals us unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

The Real “First Thanksgiving:” The Pilgrims Meet the Egyptians

May 6, 2011 at 10:27 am | Posted in Biblical firsts, Biblical Thanksgiving, Genesis | 22 Comments
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It’s fairly easy to pick up on the soteriological symbolism behind the true historical events of God calling His people out of the land of Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan, as they are recorded in the Bible. In the book of Exodus God uses Moses to get his people out of Egypt. Egypt is a picture of the “world.” During the first “Passover,” the people – by the application of blood – are set free from the bondage of the world, and come out of it. This is a picture of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Then, God’s people pass through the Red Sea. This is a picture of baptism, God’s first step of obedience for every believer. Then comes the book of Leviticus, which is full of rules for helping God’s people stay clean in their freedom. In Exodus, God gets His people out of Egypt. In Leviticus, God gets Egypt out of His people.

As we approach the end of a series of posts on Genesis, it is interesting to see how God’s people – the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – end up in Egypt in the first place. The answer lies in the adventures of Jacob’s son, Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery, and he wound up a ruler in Egypt. Through God’s providence, he was able to relocate his family there in a time of famine, so that they would survive.

There are many metaphors for life: a contest; a war; a game; a race; a battle; a trap; a puzzle. You were probably taught in school that the first Thanksgiving occurred when the Pilgrims met the Indians. But when Joseph brought his father, Jacob, to meet the Pharaoh of Egypt, Jacob explained that he saw life as a pilgrimage.

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Genesis 47:9

Christians truly are pilgrims in this life, for our ultimate home is not in this world. We are just passing through it on our way to our real home in Heaven. Vagabonds have no home. Fugitives are running away from home. Strangers are visiting someone else’s home. Pilgrims are on their way home. Are you living the pilgrim life today?

Nominative Repetition: Warning and Comfort

April 8, 2011 at 9:07 am | Posted in Biblical comfort, Biblical names, Genesis | 7 Comments
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In Genesis 45 Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. This is sort of the climax of the story of Joseph.

In Chapter 46 Jacob moves his family to Egypt, but first he built an altar and worshiped.

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

Genesis 46:1

This was very wise. It is always wise for us to seek counsel from the Lord before we make any move, and especially before we relocate our family.

Jacob was concerned about going to Egypt, and understandably so: He was aware of the trouble that Abraham had experienced there.

And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

Genesis 46:2

When the Lord says someone’s name twice, it is as if the first time is to get their attention, and the second time is to give assurance or comfort.

Genesis 22:11: “Abraham, Abraham” (when Abraham was just about to slay Isaac)

I Samuel 3:10: “Samuel, Samuel” (when the Lord spoke to Samuel as he served Eli)

Luke 10:41: “Martha, Martha” (when Jesus wanted to contrast Martha and Mary)

Acts 9:4: “Saul, Saul” (at the time of the Apostle Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus)

Why did God want Jacob and his family in Egypt?

And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Genesis 46:3

Even though going down to Egypt is sometimes a picture in the Bible of “going down” spiritually, God wanted to use Egypt as the place where He would fashion a people for Himself – not for themselves.

And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

Genesis 46:28

The “land of Goshen” (which is sort of an exclamation where I’m from) was very fertile – good for herdsmen. Judah led the way, continuing to establish his leadership role in the family – and foreshadowing the fact that the tribe of Judah would be the “royal tribe.”

Lord, I confess that I am not depending on anything other than the shed blood, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Christ Jesus for my righteousness. Lord God, when you look at the account sheet of my life, none of my works are going to pay the price for even my slightest sin. You’re going to look on the righteousness side of the account sheet and see nothing but the blood of Jesus. This I confess in His holy name. Amen.

Check Your Sack Before Jesus Comes Back

March 14, 2011 at 2:12 pm | Posted in Genesis | 2 Comments
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Jacob and his family were out of food, and the famine was still going strong.

And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

Genesis 43:1-9

Judah stepped up to the plate for his family. Maybe he learned a lesson from the incident with Tamar.

Jacob sent his sons back to Egypt, and he reluctantly sent Benjamin with them. Now the brothers had three main problems:

1. Returning to Egypt, how would they explain why they still had the money they were supposed to have used to pay for the corn?

2. Simeon was still locked up in Egypt. How would they get him out?

3. How would they make sure that nothing happened to Benjamin?

These problems have spiritual corollaries as they picture similar problems that we, as Christians, may face in our lives today:

1. Are we still carrying some type of material or spiritual baggage from an excursion we made into the world, and, if so, how are we going to get rid of it?

2. Do we have “brothers” who got locked up in the ways of the world while they were out in it with us, and, if so, how will we get them back?

3. Are we doing what we can to make our “little brothers and sisters” safe from the world?

Here’s how God arranged for Joseph’s brothers to deal with these problems:

First of all they confessed that they had something they weren’t really supposed to have.

And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

Genesis 43:19-22

This took care of two of their problems at once: They were not in trouble over the money, and they got Simeon back.

And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

Genesis 43:23

The dream which was part of the beginning of all Joseph’s troubles was now fulfilled:

And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

Genesis 43:38

The brothers still had one problem left, but God’s grace took care of that one, because “the Egyptian ruler” took a mysterious liking to Benjamin.

And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Genesis 43:34

It must have also seemed exceedingly strange to the brothers that the Egyptians had them seated according to their birth order. How could they have known that?

The events in Genesis 44 take place about 22 years after the brothers had thrown Joseph into a pit, sold him into slavery, lied to their father, and “got away with it.” Now they thought that their problems had been solved. They were on their way home with Benjamin, Simeon, and the corn: mission accomplished. Joy over hidden sin (and the idea of “getting away with it”) might produce a type of relief, but it is a false relief – a false joy. Joseph’s brothers were shocked when they were overtaken on the way home by Joseph’s steward.

And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

Genesis 44:12

The steward searched their sacks according to their birth order, which, again, must have seemed strange. The brothers had made a deal that the one who was found with the silver cup would remain in Egypt and be a servant. The tension would have been heightened as they moved toward Benjamin.

The word “found” can be “found” about seven times in Genesis 44 [Verses 8; 9; 10; 12; 16 (twice); and 17]. There is also the expression “come upon” in Verse 34. The brothers’ sin was being “found out.”

The word “father” is mentioned about 17 times in Genesis 44 [Verses 17; 19; 20 (x 2); 22 (x 3); 24; 25; 27; 30; 31; 32 (x 2); 34 (x 2)]. Sin was being “found out” and the “Father’s” judgment was coming upon it.

And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

Genesis 44:2, emphasis added

And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.

Genesis 44:16, emphasis added

In Scripture the “cup” is often the image of God’s wrath.

Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

John 18:11, emphasis added

You do not want to be caught with the cup of God’s wrath in your sack when Jesus comes back.

And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

Genesis 44:14

Notice that Judah appears to have taken the position of leadership. Also, Joseph’s dream has now been fulfilled again. They all bow.

Judah’s speech in Genesis 44:18-34 is very interesting. Judah may have been divinely inspired to appeal to the Egyptian (Joseph), using Judah’s own father (Jacob), without knowing he was talking to a man who also called Jacob “Father.” Notice “thy servant my father” in 44:24; 27; 30. Now came the fulfillment of Joseph’s second dream where Jacob also bowed before Joseph. Through this speech – this impassioned plea – Joseph realized Judah had changed.

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