An Imbalance of Grace

Genesis 32:1-21

We pick up the thread of the conflicted brothers as if nothing has happened in the years since Jacob fled his home – except now Jacob has a wealth of assets to send before him in appeasement. The combination of careful planning and strategy and fervent, humble prayer before God probably rings true with a lot of us. We do what we can when we find ourselves in a ‘spot’, but also pray, “Lord just get me out of this one and I’ll …”

Jacob’s insecurity comes even though he once again has encountered angels (verses 1-2; compare 28:10-22 and 31:10-13). Behind this is a cosmic view that assumes God’s messengers are constantly at work behind the scenes of our lives. That dimension is cracked open for Jacob on these several occasions, revealing to him something of the heaven-directed purpose of his trials. This should be of immense assurance to us. Such revelation and assurance is enough for us to get on with things, but not necessarily enough for us to feel entirely confident. So don’t feel you lack faith because of such confusion of feelings. Jesus himself was wrought with turmoil before his greatest trial, and he knew exactly where he was from and what it was all about.

The mixture of belief and unbelief, confidence and insecurity is part of all of our lives. We just need lots of prayer, time with God’s Word, real fellowship and renewing worship to have enough to go on – one sense of the “daily bread” we pray for, i.e. enough to go on for the day. It keeps us directed toward our true Strength (vertical) and those with whom we share mutual support (horizontal). And it works in such a way that confidence (in God) and peace of mind can be the overwhelmingly dominant characteristic of our experience.

Prayer:
Lord, give us this day our daily bread. Through Christ, who has traveled before us the road of life to death to greater life. Amen.

The Committed Lord

Genesis 31:36-55

The indignant speech of Jacob reveals much of the character and rights of the shepherd life. Now that Laban and Jacob have each had their speech against the other, they enter into a covenant. The Lord is present in this in such a way that he doesn’t just oversee things, but is actually a third party to the covenant. It is understood that God’s role is to take action against either human party who violates the deal. (God is often acknowledged as the third party in the covenant made between a man and woman in marriage – but hopefully in a little more positive sense; as the one who is acting in their promises and in their lives and will empower them to “be a sign of God’s kingdom on earth” as the preamble to the vows says.)

I find myself fast-forwarding to the highest form of covenant, in which Jesus pledges himself to us with his own blood. In this he is not just a third party but the main party, the initiating party, the one who is present with us and empowers us to fulfill our part (discipleship in every sense), until he comes again and fulfills the covenant himself. Sometime when we are revising our congregational calendar, we should make a point of making the last Sunday of the year a high point instead of the ‘low Sunday’ it usually is. And we should celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper as a reminder of who will be present and ahead of us in the year to come, and all time to come.

Prayer:
I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
before the "gods" I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
When I called, you answered me;
you made me bold and stouthearted.
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD,
when they hear the words of your mouth.
May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
- Psalm 138:1-5 NIV

No Contest

Genesis 31:17-35

The visible drama is between Jacob and Laban. Laban has all the rights here. He would have every right to come down on Jacob, except for one thing: God, the real God, has spoken to him. That brings us to the real drama here, but the parties to the drama, God and Laban’s household gods, are so unevenly balanced as to make it no drama at all. The God of Jacob is directing things, even speaking directly to Laban. Laban’s family gods are hidden away, powerless, even sat on. They do not impact events. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is directing this scene, and all of history.

Prayer:
Lord, this year is approaching its end. All kinds of human dramas are being played out, for the most part oblivious to your oversight. Many gods are worshiped. They have no power except to add to misdirection, confusion and pointless contests. We resolve to point more passionately and compellingly to you, in living, acting, and speaking. Through Christ. Amen.

Bless You

Genesis 31:1-16

Jacob leaves out a bit of information about the cattle when talking to Leah and Rachel in the field. But I suppose he would say, “O yeah, look what Laban has done to me over the years,” and he does (more so in the next section). He knows he is touching on a legal issue here, in that everything is Laban’s. It would be nice to think that the women have a choice about going away with Jacob because of some freedom gained on their part. Not so. It’s because they were considered part of the property. They are not worried about going against custom in breaking that connection with their “father’s house” since it appears they are not going to inherit anything from their father. So they see their place, and their material well-being, as having transferred to Jacob. We know that at a deeper level this is because the blessing is with Jacob.

Prayer:
God, do you still do this? Do you give a blessing to some that makes everything go their way, even if not for their own sake? You made the Holy Spirit available to everyone, so maybe part of the answer to this today is that we are to be blessings to one another. So show me how I can make the way better for someone today. Through Christ. Amen.

Full Tank of Blessing

Genesis 30:25-43

This is very much the same story as the previous one, only now the contest is between two guys and it’s over sheep and goats. And again with the comedy. And there’s this sly, oriental polite bargaining going on, as there was between Abraham and Ephron in chapter 23.

Overarching all these dealings there is God’s call. Recent activity has been very ‘worldly’ with little mention of God. Through these developments of wives, children, and now livestock, Jacob is being prepared for return. The stolen blessing has had its effect. Laban acknowledges the blessing (verse 27), and Jacob echoes the observation (verse 30).

Jacob is now rich with the blessing, and the time has come for return to his homeland.

Prayer:
Half empty or half full? Neither; my cup overflows with blessings from you, Lord. Through the ups and downs of this day, let me see that I am blessed for a purpose. Through Christ. Amen.

Prelude to Joseph

Genesis 30:1-24

As God has done before, he remembers and has compassion on the forgotten woman. So he gives Leah children (29:31-35). Now Rachel is upset, because, although the one loved by Jacob, she has no children. This sets off a kind of contest. I reckon the first hearers of this story must have found some humour in this. The names alone would bring some smiles, because here are these famous tribal names, with meanings attached to them stemming from the rivalry of the two sisters. It is a reflection of the human comedy in which we fancy our planning and manipulation to be so very clever, while God will have his way one way or another. Especially here there is the greatest truth buried in Jacob’s rather insensitive words in verse 2: It truly is God who brings new life, in every way, and particularly here in the gift of a son, Joseph, to Rachel. We will hear more of him.

Prayer:
Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.
You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
- Psalm 86:1-5 (NIV)

And we're part of it together

Genesis 29:13-35

The deceiver is deceived. Not only that, the trick on Jacob involves supplanting the younger with the older. Jacob had tricked his father and brother into giving him, the younger brother, the rights and blessing intended for the first-born son. Now the older daughter takes the place of the younger one. Once again we will understandably be troubled at the wheeling and dealing here involving human beings, and nowadays we frown on being married to more than one person at once (it’s tough enough being married to one, my wife would say). The deception on Jacob is all the more poignant because of the lengths of time he commits to, and because of his genuine love for Rachel.

From the union of Jacob and Leah came, eventually, a guy named Moses, a descendant of Levi (Exodus 2:1-10); and also King David, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, through Judah (Matthew 1:1-16).

Sometimes I just marvel at what a great story God writes.

Prayer:
Yes, God, you write a great story. But in the midst of it we have real experience, real pain, real fear, but also real love. Give us also real hope. We see you working in a timeline involving generations. Give us a real sense of fulfilling your purpose in the slice of time you have entrusted to us. Through Christ. Amen.

First Impression

Genesis 29:1-12

From angels ascending and descending we come to a very down-to-earth story. Well, OK, a long period of time has passed, but it’s next in the story; Jacob has now made his way to his mother’s home area. He evidently is quite eager to make a good impression on his cousin, Rachel. “When he saw Rachel” he proceeds to roll the stone off the well all by himself, so that the sheep over which Rachel is shepherd can drink. The others there weren’t necessarily lazy, as Jacob seems to suggest. These wells, with a stone covering them, were shared by several shepherds, and it was custom to wait until all were there to water their flocks together, to avoid even the suspicion of anything unfair happening. This was also a practical necessity since the stone was so large. So this was quite a feat by Jacob.

Life reflects Scripture in that we can go from sublime moments to very down to earth behaviour. Yet in Jacob’s display (or maybe he was just moved by the need) he connects with one he is destined for. Once again we can see God working in and through very ordinary, everyday conduct.

So what significant thing is God working through your next human encounter today? Maybe something, maybe nothing much. Who knows? We can’t get tied up dwelling on it. Our perception of God in things is generally a matter of hindsight, and presently a matter of trust.

Prayer:
God, who knows what you are working through the events of this day? Shall I follow my heart in things? Yes, but thank you for the vast experience of people with you in Scripture as my guide, along with the accountability afforded by good Christian friends. Through Christ. Amen.

With Us

Genesis 28:10-22

In a zone between departure and destination, in the vulnerability of sleep and the receptiveness of dream, Jacob sees a stairway – probably more like a ziggurat (What kind of ‘stairway’ would they have in those days, anyway?). Angels, messengers of God, are going up and down this ramp. If they’re using a ramp they probably don’t have wings, right? So there’s this six-lane, broadband thing going on between heaven and earth. It all sets the scene for the Lord himself to speak. The speech suggests we should think of this more as a down-ramp than an up-ramp. The Lord doesn’t say, “Come on up,” but “I am with you” (verse 15). And he will bless Jacob and his progeny from heaven.

It’s probably fair to observe that heaven is more concerned with earth than earth is with heaven. That is underlined with the last bit, where the place that had been a kind of twilight zone now becomes a place of great significance and remembrance because the Lord was experienced there. God doesn’t just make his presence known as the one we hope one day to come to, but as the one who comes to us, who enters this world and all our experience, coming to scoundrels like Jacob and you and me, and promising to be with us. That was the message to Israel and to us. The eras are transcended with that message and reality in one of the most beautiful of Advent carols, celebrating Emmanuel, “God with us":

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Words: Combined from various texts by an unknown author, possibly in the 12th Century (Veni, veni Emanuel); translated from Latin to English by John M. Neale in 1851.
Music: Veni Emmanuel, from a 15th Century processional of French Franciscan nuns

Prayer:
Are you with us, Lord? Yes more than we know. Thank you. In Jesus, our Emmanuel. Amen.

Marrying Wal-Mart

Genesis 28:1-9

The issue of who you marry and cultural and religious purity is not the issue for today’s world that it was at the time of Jacob and Esau. Spiritual partnership in marriage is of course a very live issue, but it is not so much now a question of identity as it was then. That issue has shifted to a broader landscape. It seems to me it has more to do with the Christian’s involvement in the world. How does it actually work to be “in the world but not of it”?

There could be a separate blog just on that. But for the Christian church the issue is one of distinctiveness versus sharing the world with other religions. In recent centuries western civilization has identified itself as the Christian world. We can no longer get away with that. Today’s Christianity is closer to the Christianity Christ founded and the Paul celebrated, in that it can no longer be identified with any one culture. That leads us to recognize what is truly distinctive about Christianity, and that is person of Christ.

Couldn’t that be partly why the church is on fire with growth in parts of the world where there is not the baggage of Christ tied to a culture, and particularly our culture? The world’s perception of our Lord is being liberated from too close association with our highly materialistic and resource-gorging lifestyle.

For reasons that were pertinent to the time and culture of this Bible passage, there was concern about who your sons married (again with the patriarchy), as a matter of the survival of a people.

What are we married to?

Prayer:
God, you know I am talking about things that I need to change myself. We are pretty much all identified with what we own, acquire, control. Let the Christ who had nowhere to lay his head and owned nothing be our Lord in new ways. Amen.

One Way or Another

Genesis 27:41-46

It’s a strange way to enjoy a blessing: immediately going into exile, even if it’s to a relative’s place. There don’t appear to be any winners here. And yet it is Jacob, the deceiver, after whom a nation will be named. The mundane expression of verse 46 contributes to the plot shifting back to the land of Rebekah’s family, where Jacob’s family will take shape. Given the strength of Rebekah’s desire to have Jacob marry elsewhere, you even suspect that her motive in the Jacob/Esau deception was leading to this! She could have tried to persuade him to go, but this way he has to. But that’s speculation.

At any rate, this episode of deception, and what we’ll find leading to it, leads me to fast forward to Paul writing to the Thessalonians when he said to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, emphasis mine). It may be a matter of relief to know that you are not expected to be thankful for all circumstances. That would be an impossible burden.

Prayer:
God, we have this old expression about you; that you move in mysterious ways. There are a lot of things we can’t like at the time they are happening. Don’t let the things that bother us consume us. They are not the whole story. Thanks for that. Through Christ. Amen.

God is good, not nice

Genesis 27:1-40

The pain of this passage is excruciating. I find it very hard to read. There are a ton of adjectives for describing our Lord, but one of them is not “nice.” Wouldn’t it sound odd to pray in church, “God you are so nice.” It should sound odd.

God wasn’t nice to anyone in this story. I said this is a painful story. The circumstances hardly need explaining why. You read it, you feel the pain too. An old, blind man, for heaven’s sake, tricked by his own son at the prompting of a conniving mother, favoring one son in this way over the other. I mean, the whole thing is just heart and gut wrenching.

What a painful way to see that the blessing to be given isn’t really Isaac’s to give after all. And this is so even though he has a lot invested in it. He recognizes the responsibility of passing it on. He asks for the food to give him the strength to do it. There’s a lot riding on what he does and how he does it. But it’s not his. Neither are Rebekah in her scheming, or Jacob in his wimpy following, the actors they think they are. The blessing came from God to Abraham and passes through Isaac, but it’s not his blessing to give. On the human level of tradition, everything screams out that this is all wrong. No! Take it back, do it again. Cut. Rewind. Let’s have the DVD interactive version and go back a couple of scenes, just like you get to tell Timon and Pumbah which trail to take.

Nope. Not just because even the human understanding of the bestowing of blessing means it’s like an arrow that can’t be called back; it’s because it’s what God has arranged.

A generation will run a faith community. But it’s not really us. There is a coming generation. The blessing must be passed on. They should take our ways. They should learn what we do. We’re putting an awful lot of effort into this. Missing family time. Dealing with conflict. Trying to do a lot with a little. Loving "Blessed Be Your Name" and "He Reigns." We’re putting so much into this we’d better work hard to pass it on. We even see who it should be passed on to.

But maybe God has something different in mind. Maybe God will turn it in some other direction. Bless someone else. Use means we know nothing about instead of the things we have loved. If we’re smart the difference from Isaac is that we’ll know all along that what God does isn’t what we’ll expect. So we’ll find peace in the God who isn’t nice.

Prayer:
Our Father in heaven. May your name be honoured. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And just use whatever I’m working at to do what you really want done. Yes, you will anyway, but let me be a willing participant. Through Christ. Amen.

Turbo Blessing

Genesis 26

The power of blessing to Abraham shapes Isaac’s life and experience. It seems strange that he goes through the same sister/wife charade that his father did. But then you get this same sense from an ‘outsider’ that you don’t mess with this family. They are blessed because of the purpose God has for them. The crops spew up. They are so blessed they are deemed dangerous and asked to leave. No matter. They find water. The Lord reiterates his blessing on them. The outsider seeks them out again because he sees that God is with them and wants to make sure he’s good with them.

It seems to me the equivalent of this kind of blessing for the church is the anointing of the Holy Spirit – anointed for a purpose. Too often a church family exudes no sense of being so filled with the Spirit they are deemed dangerous.

It might be a worthwhile exercise for a church family to come up with one word they would like ‘outsiders’ have come to mind when they have some awareness of that family. It would reveal how much we want to give over power and control, truly, to the one who blesses. Call me cantankerous or something but I would hope the word would not be just “loving” or “friendly” or something that equally would come out sounding so innocuous. I should hope we are loving and friendly, but that doesn’t really say anything. Of course we should be loving and friendly. Duh. But what else? Jesus and the disciples after him shook their world. What would it take to shake our community and area? What would it take?

Prayer:
Lord, fill us with love and friendship so powerful we might even be considered dangerous. Through Christ. Amen.

When things get petty

Genesis 25:19-35

Rebekah and Isaac were brought together by divine guidance, but that doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly, and it doesn’t. There is a sign of trouble during the pregnancy. Esau would be born ahead of Jacob and so would have the rights of the first born. But God has more in mind than adherence to human conventions, and he will work through the strangest of ways, or so it seems to us.

There is here a sign of something that will become very clear in the New Testament, and is a prominent theme in Advent readings: God has a preference for working through those without natural or institutional entitlement. That has not to do with their goodness or lack of it. It is all part of this plan for bringing all together in the Living Word. Jacob and Esau had no awareness of the larger scene of which their petty struggle was part. May we trust, in any of our present struggles, that there is the kind of providence at work that Mary was able to see, in hindsight, on behalf of Abraham’s children’s children:

“He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.” (Luke 1:53-55)

Prayer:
God, you have graciously brought me to this day. You have not promised it will be easy. But you have given me the resource of prayer, and the commitment of your presence and purpose. Just give me this day my daily bread of sustenance to do your will. Through Christ. Amen.

Good ol' what's his name

Genesis 25:1-18

You’ve probably been engaged in that exercise where you’re asked to say what you would like as your epitaph. And the point is usually made that as others remember you, it won’t be for how much time you put in at work, but for your devotion to family, and how you were kind to people from whom you could expect nothing.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t like to think I could make some sort of noticeable impact on this world, however small. Still, I can honestly say I’m not into personal kingdom-building. I really wouldn’t want anything named after me (not that that’s a threat). I am bothered by the wall of plaques in our church.

So what is it “okay” to want? I think there is a parallel with what we have noted about miracle: Miracle is the transformation of our hearts so that we see things more with God’s vision. Outward events, however out of the ordinary, could be explained away somehow. In a similar way, our good works are valuable as signs of a life being transformed, and as expressions of a love not our own.

In the end, Abraham died “full of years” because he trusted God.

Prayer:
Let me desire only to do what is pleasing to you, Lord, today and always. Through Christ. Amen.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Genesis 24:28-67

At this point Abraham’s servant has identified Rebekah as the one he is being directed to and gives thanks. When they get to the house of Rebekah’s family Abraham’s servant lets the animals be tended to and the feet of those in his group to be washed, but when they set a spread of food in front of him he says the reason for his visit must be heard first. The ensuing speech gives us no new information. Its main purpose is to impress Rebekah’s relatives with God’s visible guidance, without neglecting to mention the material benefits of being part of Abraham’s household.

Once Rebakah’s brother acknowledges the divine hand in what Abraham’s servant says, things kick into high gear. The relatives say Rebekah can go. They do not see, as Abraham’s servant does, that that guidance is such as to require overlooking normal customs of hospitality, which would mean staying for a spell. When the relatives (finally) ask Rebekah if she is willing to go, and she agrees, they leave immediately. Note that the wishes expressed to her by her family are of a very earthly character, even though God is working in all this.

Often in Scripture we see God’s action in obvious and ‘supernatural’ ways. I certainly got that impression with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It comes with the exodus from Egypt, in the descriptions of the calls the Isaiah and Jeremiah and events in the life of Elijah. For the most part, however, it more as we experience life: The supernatural activity has to do with God acting in our hearts, so that we can perceive his action, guidance, providence and purpose in things – maybe not as they happen, but in prayerful reflection and as we give everything to him in trust, and even then it may be a matter of just that: trust.

There are no outward supernatural occurrences in the story of the finding of a wife for Isaac. Even the prayer of the servant in the first part of the story looks for nothing out of the ordinary, but to see a sign from God in very ordinary events indeed. It is probably to be taken as significant that the turning point in the story is when divine guidance is acknowledged by both main parties to the action: the representatives of both Isaac’s and Rebekah’s families.

The ending of the story does not mention Abraham again, which might seem odd when he set all this in motion. We aren’t given any details about what Isaac was doing where he was when the and Rebakah came across each other. What matters is that the business of matchmaking was done. The narrator mentions Sarah’s tent, probably to underline that the serious matter of family lineage has been tended to.

But the real matchmaking is between purpose and events.

Prayer:
God, so often life just seems to bump along and then something hits us like a ton of bricks and we wonder what’s all about. And we may never make sense of it. Work in my heart to trust you are putting the pieces of this puzzle together, and that each of us has a place in the picture you have in mind. Through Christ. Amen.

Rebekah, Leader

Genesis 24:1-27

In twenty-five years of officiating at weddings, I have only had one in which the bride was “given away.” And that was only because the bride herself absolutely insisted on it, even under my friendly protest that we’re supposed to have gotten away from treating women as property. In hindsight, it occurs to me I could have suggested the groom be given away too!

In this story, the extent of the expectation of service on the part of a woman – who, it should be noted, is not a slave but a family member – can point in another direction than simply to marvel disapprovingly at the patriarchal cultural context of the story. Rather than seeing the degree of Rebekah’s service (she hauled an unimaginable amount of water for those camels – and what was everyone else doing at the time?) as something to be corrected, maybe it is a model of service for all of us. It’s not so much that no one should be such a servant, but that we should all aspire to such service. In light of Christian revelation, I would say Rebekah is showing the most leadership here, anticipating Jesus’ own model of leadership/service: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

Prayer:
Lord, lead me to go the extra mile for someone today, and make such service a way of life. Through Christ. Amen.

Sarah's Burial

Genesis 23

At this stage in Israel’s faith there is little or no ‘sacred’ significance attached to the events described here. Some even see comic relief in the transactions. The word “give” is used here a lot, but there is no intention of giving anything! Abraham paid quite a lot for the burial property when all the coy haggling was said and done. We also get a glimpse of the legal processes with the business in the gate and the witnesses and so forth.

At the outset of the dealing, Abraham minimizes his stature and the Hittites make him larger than life (verses 4-6). Think maybe there’s a negotiating purpose in this posturing? The vendor is leading into, “You deserve the best.” How many ads tell you the same thing!

The fact is, for the purpose of our larger story, Abraham is indeed both an alien and royalty. As are we all.

Prayer:
God, remind me that you are in the routine and ordinary as well as in what I find immediately meaningful and exciting. You are in the ordinary encounters I will have with each extraordinary person I meet. Through Christ. Amen.

No Bit Parts

Genesis 22:20-24

One of the advantages of a written meditation is that you don’t have to pronounce the names! No, that’s not my thought for the day, but in sharing such a thought I’m giving away that I don’t find depth of meaning in this passage readily. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Does that mean that all Scripture is equally useful? Tell us all what you think.

Meanwhile, there’s this brother of Abraham, Nahor, who has 12 children – just like Israel (i.e. Jacob) would. Four of them are from a concubine. But once again we find those we might call "lesser lights" who are worthy of note and apparently blessed by God. This may not be the most exciting passage we’ve read for a while, but it is here, so it is here for a reason. I think we’re getting the message again – so it must be important – that although some characters are called for particular purposes, others have their own identity and lives and value and purpose.

We’ve just come to a climactic point in the Abraham saga, in which Abraham has demonstrated that he is, after all, trusting of God and worthy of being described as the (human) father of faith. We should note the point of inclusiveness God seems to be underlining as we move on. When God works special faith in some way, it is designed to spill over to others in ways we would never expect.

Prayer:
Lord, what kind of role do you have for me? For any of us? It may be hard to perceive while we’re in the middle of it. Thank you for the assurance that, whatever it is, each of us matters to you, and we each have our part to play. Thank you for the privilege. Through Christ. Amen.

pro video

Genesis 22:1-19

When Abraham answered Isaac about the lamb for the sacrifice he couldn’t have perceived the full truth of what he was saying. “God himself will provide” could be understood as the main theme of the Abraham saga. In fact it is a way to understand the Biblical message, with its New Testament expression being death and resurrection. OK, Isaac didn’t actually die and come to life again; the parallel lies in the human vision of the future versus the God picture of the future. Human vision sees and says “No way” to the extent of seeing only physical death at the end of earthly life, saying, there’s no way through this. God sees and provides a way, even “the way” (John 14:6).

The basic sense of the Hebrew word translated “provide” here has to do with seeing. I’ve seen it put that you can take the word “provide” and break it down to its roots: pro video. God’s provision means he sees what we don’t see. Faith means trusting in God’s vision for us. God’s vision for us isn’t just something he sort of drops down on us. It means we trust him to see for us.

As for the horror even contemplated in this story, consider this (emphasis mine): “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Prayer:
Lord, take my hand and lead me wherever you want. Maybe along the way you can give me a glimpse of what you see. Through Christ, the Way. Amen.

Hi God, It's Me

Genesis 21:8-21

“That slave woman’s son” (verse 10). For Sarah, neither Hagar nor Ishmael have names. Reminds me of a certain famous leader talking about “that woman.” Remove names and it all becomes less real. Abusers objectify their victims so they seem less human.

God remembers. He calls us by name: “What is the matter, Hagar?” (emphasis mine). Yes, it’s “the boy,” but then, “I will make him into a great nation” (verse 18).

Isaac is the child of promise, miracle and laughter; Ishmael was born of human plotting. But God loves both. Yes, Isaac is the bearer of the greater blessing and the larger plans, but God does not forget Ishmael. It’s not about who is better, but it’s about God’s choices for God’s purposes. What matters at a personal level is that when – and as – all the stories are played out, God knows each of our names, whether in human society your name is known by millions or by just the people you know.

Prayer:
God, as I pray I’ve had another revelation about my prayers: I’ve never had to tell you who’s calling. Thanks. Amen.

Did You Hear the One About Eternity?

Genesis 21:1-7

A joke isn’t much of a joke if you know the ending. The more unexpected the ending the funnier it is.

God has a joke for us. He tells us what’s going to happen. We don’t believe it. He does it. We’re surprised. Joke’s on us.

Laugh forever.

Prayer:
It just occurs to me, God, I don’t think I have ever laughed while talking with you. Laughter and prayer just don’t seem to go together. Is that right? I’d like to say that’s because I take talking with you seriously, but it’s probably just because I take myself too seriously. Let’s deal with that. Through Christ. Amen.

Why We Believe

Genesis 20:1-18

The Lord chose to work through Abraham/Israel but there are signs here of the Lord’s expansive gaze toward all of humanity. The situation in this episode is familiar from chapter 12, when Abraham and Sarah when to Egypt. But there is something new here. Notice that the ‘pagan’ ruler has his own conversation with the Hebrew God. It is the ‘pagan’ guy who acts in a more moral and upstanding manner. It is the ‘pagan’ character who acts with humility and respect both toward God and the neighbour who has come into his environment.

Still, Abraham, though he behaves badly, has the promise and blessing at the end of the passage. Why? Because he deserves it? No, because God has chosen him and he is to be the instrument of his work toward the whole world.

This is a great “It’s not about me” passage for the believer. When we believe, even, it is because of God’s initiative, and it is not for our own edification, let alone right and privilege. We are called for a purpose. Life is a great adventure of discovering and fulfilling that purpose.

Prayer:
Thank for the joy, nourishment, love and blessing we experience when we acknowledge that we are not our own, and live accordingly. Through Christ. Amen.

Your Lot in Life

Genesis 19:30-38

Why would such sordid stories be preserved? In this case, it explains the origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites, who were occasional enemies of Israel. So Israel might take some sinister satisfaction in preserving such a story of their origin. At the same time, it serves to point out that the offspring were preserved, and were effectively included in the promise of life and blessing given to Abraham. Again, God’s grace prevails through human degradation. In that vein, we should probably also note the lack of trust in Lot’s behaviour in fleeing Zoar, the place provided for his protection by God. So maybe there’s a hint that he is not entirely innocent here. He didn’t have to drink the wine to the point of insensibility, either. And once again, considering the daughters’ perspective (not to excuse anything), we should remember how powerful for this culture was the drive toward having progeny. It is remarkable that, though we recoil at the story, the text itself does not moralize about the behaviour.

The main point through it all, though, I think, is God’s prevailing provision and grace. It’s also a practical reminder to us not to look down on anyone because of his or her origin.

Prayer:
Lord, I look at some behaviour and wonder anyone could do such a thing. Maybe it bothers me most because I suspect I may be not much different. I acknowledge before you that I really just can’t know how I would act in another’s situation. Hold me accountable for what I do, even what I think. Give us loving mutual accountability, overseen by the Master who loved all. Amen.

There Be Grace Here Too

Genesis 19:1-29

A gruesome story. But the way it is framed in the Scripture is terribly important. On its own the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is fertile ground for right wing shouting preachers who want to blame gays for all the ills of society and its impending collapse.

The demand at the door of Lot is most significant for the dilemma it sets up for Lot, the host. And that’s the main point here: “What are you doing to do, Lot, what are you going to do?” The first audience of this story will appreciate what a bind he is in. The repugnance of his offer of , “take the women instead,” isn’t so much a matter of taking women instead of men, as it is of taking people who belong in the house rather than his guests. We can’t appreciate the cultural significance of that, and that’s not even taking into account who these guests really are. I know, the story is still ugly but there it is. That then sets up the guests taking the matter in hand and rescuing Lot and his family. I get a sense of the miraculous in their deliverance from the city, given the press of the crowd that has been described.

As for the destruction, we should probably just take it at face value. There was either just a straightforward supernatural event we can’t possibly imagine, or a divinely caused seismic event with release of gases that was ignited somehow (lightning?). Let’s stay away from talk of aliens and nuclear blasts and the like.

If you take this story in isolation, and ignore verse 29, you could take it pretty much as a moralistic tale that says nothing more than God destroys bad people. God certainly does not tolerate violations of human dignity or generally dissipating behaviour. We do suffer consequences for sin. But he is also a God of grace. Verse 29 reminds us of the remarkable conversation recorded in chapter 28, which shows that while God is unchanging, he is not unmovable.

The times out of which this Scripture comes would not consider the destruction remarkable. What is actually quite stunning are the notes of grace interwoven in the ugliness. God through his-story is showing that the grace will win out.

Prayer:
Lord, help me part of a reversal that resists the world’s tendency to take down the innocent with the guilty. The Christ. Amen.

Bold Prayer

Genesis 18:16-33

Why not go farther? Why stop at ten? That’s the question that jumps out for me at the end of this section. The answer just from the story as a story standpoint I guess would be that Abraham felt he dare not push things any farther. From a theological standpoint we are maybe supposed to see that God does not do things the same whether we pray or not. Prayer matters. Intercession matters. God has a disposition to save, but part of his grace means he wants to partner with us (however unequally), just as he decided to partner with Abraham (verse 17). Maybe he was disappointed Abraham didn’t push him farther!

Human leadership, on the other hand, has a disturbing tolerance for “collateral damage” when violent answers are deemed necessary. We should learn from the one whose disposition is to save.

Prayer:
God, I know I do not pray enough. I know my prayers are not bold enough. It’s hard to persist in something I don’t see immediate answers to. Increase my love for others, and my trust in your even greater care for them. Through Christ. Amen.

Three Men

Genesis 18:1-15

The first question here might be how Abraham got that these three men were the Lord. How does that work? Answer: I don’t know. But I’m seeing it like one of those stories or movies where the character sees what no one else, including the audience, sees. Anyone but Abraham just sees three men. To Abraham their presence is revealed as that of God himself. It will go unexplained. To read into this something about the Trinity would be just that: a reading into the text.

The main point comes with the question in verse 14: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” If the answer is anything but “no” then the question is changed; we’re not talking about the Lord. You might be reluctant to utter the answer, however obvious, because then you realize immediately your faith and life has to match it, and we fail to live the answer, especially when we tend to be challenged with it, as was Sarah, precisely when we are least disposed to believe. The question really only comes up because of some kind of crisis. At least Abraham and Sarah knew what it was they were expected to believe would happen. When was the last time the Lord unmistakably spoke to you and told you to believe some specific thing that was going to happen?

What I think we can all do is apply the principle to a promise like that in Romans 8:38-39. Then you can see all the little blessings that come along the way as things God has fulfilled as sub-categories and signs of the fulfilling of the promise of eternal life. He may have told us about the things along the way that he would give or do – the child, the job, the friend, the opportunity, the gift – but instead of experiencing the Lord telling us what he was going to do we just saw three dudes at the door of our tent, and we’ve even forgotten about them.

Prayer:
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.
Open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see you, I want to see you.
- Paul Baloche

No Deal or No Deal

Genesis 17:15-27

We’ve seen Abraham and Sarah trying to help God along with his plan of making a great nation from them. That was by co-opting Hagar into the process. Now it’s like Abraham wants to make a kind of deal since Ishmael is now around anyway. It’s like, “Since he’s available now, let’s go with this, Lord.”

No deal. God doesn’t deal. And we don’t make deals with him. Abraham still doesn’t get it, just like we have trouble getting it: God's promise is better than what is evident or available to our discernment and ability. Now God makes the promise more concrete than it ever has been. There’s even a name: Isaac. As for Ishmael, he won’t be the one to bear the promised blessing, but God will look after him too (verse 20) and he is considered fully to be Abraham’s son (verse 26).

Proceeding with the circumcision for Abraham, Ishmael, and the those of his household, does show obedience and trust, after all, on the part of Abraham – but it took a bit of doing, didn’t it?

Prayer:
Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths;
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
For you are God my Saviour,
And my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4-5

Symbols

Genesis 17:1-14

Biblical faith is never just a matter of philosophy. It is down-to-earth, with down-to-earth symbols connecting the teaching and the living. When the Lord gives to Abraham the fullest and most solemn expression of his promise to him yet, it is followed by a sign that will become central to Israel’s life and identity: circumcision (it is also yet another indication of the patriarchal nature of the culture, as is the listing of pretty much only men in the genealogies).

Circumcision would become a metaphor for committed faith (Deuteronmy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4). Yet, like any symbol or practice, it runs the danger of acquiring a life of its own. Religious symbols and rites can be become instruments of conformity having to do more with culture than with what is spiritual. This kind of problem was at the heart of a debate in the early church that is reflected in various places in the New Testament (e.g. Acts 15:1).

As a sign of commitment, the Christian symbol of baptism is a sign of our death and resurrection in Christ. But it can be an idol (as in churches that tout the number baptisms they have as a kind of prize) or a sentimental rite of passage (as infant baptism has been, as it has been sometimes practiced). Symbols are important and powerful when they are treated as signs of God’s commitment to us and our returning commitment to him.

Prayer:
Whatever symbols we might use, Lord, may it come to this: that I would not fail to see the lengths you have gone to, to get our attention; with the words, the actions, the symbols, the mighty acts, the people, the trees, the sky, the needs, the seemingly insignficant blips in the day – you’re there, all the time, trying to get our attention, and get us to respond in some way to your amazing commitment to us. What shall I do in the next hour as a response for right now? In Christ. Amen.

Not So Helpful

Genesis 16

With the passing of time the promise of offspring for Abraham and Sarah must seem to get farther away, not closer. So there is this plan. It was a way to help the Lord along with his promise. It involved an accepted practice, in which the slave of a woman could be ‘given’ to the husband for the purpose of an heir. An ensuing child was considered the child of the couple. We could make what we like of the morality of all this but it’s not the point here. The plan doesn’t work so neatly, however, because Hagar, the slave drawn into this, develops her own feelings about this situation and begins to “despise her mistress” (verse 4). Abraham doesn’t help much when he basically says to Sarah that Hagar is her problem. So Sarah subjects Hagar to some sort of abuse and Hagar heads out into the desert.

An angel confronts Hagar, telling her to go back to Sarah as her mistress. She will bear a son – Ishmael (‘God hears’) - because God has heard her cry. The character of the son will reflect the situation out of which he has come: unruly and confrontational.

Two things stand out about all this for me. One is that things get complicated when we don’t trust what God says – Sarah and Abraham thought God’s plan needed a little help. The other is that the character of God is such that he looks after the people affected by the disobedience of the faithful. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to care about such victims because God will look after them. No, it’s just the opposite. God took notice of Hagar, and so are we to take special care of the inevitable victims when there is a lack or betrayal of trust.

Prayer:
God, will I trust in what your promise and direction when circumstances seem to indicate you have forgotten, don’t care, or are just taking too long for my liking? Let me keep to simple plans of your making. You have already shown how I can ‘help’ – by repenting and believing the good news that your Kingdom is at hand. In Christ. Amen.

His Promise Is Enough

Genesis 15

Abraham responds to a word from God, observing before God that he remains childless. This is experienced as an especially significant gap in the fulfillment of promise since the promise is specifically tied to land. Such a promise has little significance to him and his culture if there is no heir. In response, the Lord reiterates the promise, pointing to the sky and comparing the descendents Abraham will have to the stars. Abraham believes the promise and in a phrase that echoes prominently in the New Testament, we read that this was credited to him as righteousness.

This a key point in the reputation of Abraham as a father of faith. He believed the promise in spite of all appearance. His affirmation did not come from any sign of fulfillment in his circumstances, but simply from a further word from the Lord. In other words, he trusted the one who made the promise also to provide the means of its fulfillment.

What follows is a kind of sacrament giving outward expression of the promise. It is a sign of the covenant God establishes with Abraham. When the fulfillment of the promise is nowhere to be seen, the covenant will be in place and Abraham will rely on that. We can do little more than guess at the original meaning of the symbols and actions, but the significance is seems clear enough: the Lord is committed to Abraham, and that will be enough for him while he still experiences barrenness in his circumstances.

Prayer:
Thank you for hope that is not tied to circumstances, God. Thank you for power to give shape to things according to your purposes. Help those who have received your promise to be instruments of hope to those who are blown wherever circumstances take them. Through Christ. Amen.

El

Genesis 14

Through a mess of activity of various kings and armies, Lot and his household get carted off. This puts Abraham in a role we don’t see him in elsewhere: military commander. In fact it seems odd.

At any rate, we get to the real meat of the chapter when the action subsides, especially with reference to “God Most High” on the lips of the king of Salem (later to be known as Jerusalem), and this is in the course of pronouncing a blessing on Abraham.

The “Most High” is the usual translation of an ancient word for God that transcends cultures, as we see it does here. The Hebrew name is Elyon, or El for short. What’s really interesting is that the name didn’t’ start with Israel, but Israel appropriated it. In this passage, it facilitates the trans-cultural exchange between the king of Salem and Abraham, and then Abraham makes reference to the same name in his dealings with the king of Sodom, in which he insists on the integrity of his journey under him. I just find this really cool.

It gets better if we fast forward to the New Testament and find an instance of the Greek version of the same name at Acts 7:48. It is in Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. What precipitates that speech? Stephen is charged with speaking against the temple. He begins his speech at the beginning of Acts 7 reviewing the history of Israel starting with guess who: Abraham. When he gets to Solomon’s building of the temple in question, points out that “the Most High (italics mine) does not live in houses made by men” (Acts 7:48). Then he quotes Isaiah 66:1-2, and tells the assembled religious rulers that they have resisted the working of the Holy Spirit and murdered the one sent by God.

It is always dangerous talk in a religious community to point out it is wrong to be more interested in buildings and institutions than in the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Stephen was stoned.

But the church still grew and flourished because of the truth of what Stephen pointed out: God is not contained by the packages we try to put him in. And because he is Elyon, he will continue to try to bring us together in a way that goes beyond who we think “us” is.

Prayer:
I just bow before your greatness, God, Elyon, Ancient One. Who can discern your purposes, except by following you in trust, even imperfectly, as Abraham, and seeing where you take us, and to whom. Through Christ. Amen.

Lift Up Your Eyes

Genesis 13

Here we jump right from the disturbing episode at the end of chapter 12 to a heartening account of Abraham’s promise-believing, faithful, and magnanimous action with Lot. Together the two scenes don’t seem to make sense, but isn’t that the reality with any of us? Well, maybe not you, but it is with me.

What this and the preceding episode have in common is the intervention of the Lord; in the first, in response to unfaithfulness; now, in response to action that is promise-believing. He tells both Lot and Abraham to look up to see the scope of what is before them (verses 10 and 14).

It seems to be part of God’s economy that the scope of the response to faithfulness is vastly greater than the scale of response to unfaithfulness. It’s not that he doesn’t take unfaithfulness seriously. He just seems to respond with great excitement and pleasure in us when we respond to life’s circumstances with faithfulness.

So which is better?

Prayer:
God, we like to talk about the complexity of situations. Maybe we make things more complicated than they need to be because we are reluctant to see through to the choice in the situation that is really very clear. The easier way is so often the less faithful way. Don’t let me fear the way that seems more difficult. Through Christ. Amen.

"F" on the First Test

Genesis 12:10-20

In Genesis 12:1-9, Abraham seems pretty much perfect. Suddenly we find him putting his wife in danger to save his own hide. The opening of the chapter presents him as a model of faithfulness. Now he is an anxious man who has forgotten the promise of God.

The encounter described is between a vagabond with nothing but a promise behind him, and a powerful empire, the head of which can act without answering to anyone. In the middle of this is the action of the Lord.

We have here a first appearance of a recurring theme in the story of Israel: survival of a powerless minority. Part of the way to make any sense of this is to realize how the story will be received by its first readership: tiny Israel in the midst of powerful nations and forces. For them this story is an encouragement. It even mocks the great power of Egypt in that the Egyptians right up to the emperor look beyond all the women of their own empire and find attractive the mother of Israel, who, in addition, is ageing.

There is still the moral question. I mean, Abraham really looks bad here. While I don’t think we’ll find any justifying reason for Abraham’s conduct, we might consider this:

Abraham was told that all families were to be blessed through him. There could also be curse through him (12:3). Maybe we are not supposed to gloss over the unsavory nature of Abraham’s action, but to see that this unfaithfulness to God does bring a curse – but not on Abraham (verse 17). It points to the hard reality that innocent people suffer when God is not trusted.

It also shows – whether right by our morality or not – that Abraham is protected.

Reading the text this way foreshadows a dynamic of life in Christ. When we are in Christ our destiny with God in heaven is assured. But we still foul up and people get hurt, sometimes badly. But our journeying with God and our role to be a blessing to others is not taken away. Our place is still assured. Is that fair? Of course not. But because of grace and not because of any goodness of ours, God’s purposes will prevail. He will choose to use for that whom he chooses. It’s about his choices and his purposes; it’s not about us.

It makes me feel really humble. Salvation is once for all, but repentance is a daily necessity.

Prayer:
Father, your Son said for his followers daily to take up their cross and follow him. Each day may a little more of my sinful, rebellious, untrusting nature be crucified, that more and more, day by day, I may be more like Jesus. Amen.

To Be an Altar in Canaan

Genesis 12:1-9

“What will God do next?” I asked. Humanity is now spread out and in a state of not-hearing – not hearing either God or one another. In the midst of this God calls one family, and one man in particular. This is the new way. Yes, God has addressed individuals before, but not with the purpose of forming a whole nation through whom he will work, with the rest of humanity in mind. It may well be we get to see some of the intended dynamic of this working through the particular toward the larger scene in these few verses.

First we should acknowledge with appreciation the nature of Abram’s response. It is pointed out that for ancient people to leave home and break ties with ancestors was unthinkable. But the response here is a new listening and doing in relationship to the Lord.

And then amongst the Canaanites Abram sets up altars to his God. There is no sign of preaching here, just openly acknowledging the one who had called him and brought him this far. The Christian community will be called in time to do something more in the midst of their surrounding culture, but what happens here may be viewed as the foundation without which further witness will be fruitless: That is to let your life be a matter of worship, i.e. listen and respond to God and acknowledge him as the author of your journey.

Prayer:
Should the world around me get to fit too comfortably, Lord, it is surely a sign I am not listening and following you and the journey you call me to. Make me faithful to the Way, who is the Christ. Amen.

Expecting

Genesis 11:10-32

The human map is continued here from chapter 10. But where before there was a sense of expansion, now there is a movement through one family line, ending with the family of Terah, one of whose children is Abram.

It is noted after all this ‘begetting’ (as an older version says) that Sarai is “barren.” The narrator adds “she had no children” maybe to underline that this was not a new condition. It’s also not foreign to the language to add something that says the same thing a different way (e.g. ‘I was silent and did not speak’). At any rate we get the point. It is especially ironic – and meaningful for what God is doing – that we are a point that is full of expectancy. We have come to a sort of impasse, both in this family line and in the story of humans. The chasm between God and humanity has widened. Now God has dispersed humans in a confusion of language and there is no evident word of grace in the description of that. What is God going to do now? If this were a TV series this episode would be the season-ender. But we should have learned enough about God’s ways by now to know that the degree of apparent hopelessness just increases the anticipation. Sarah and her family, along with all humanity – at any time - , can indeed be expectant and expecting, even in her/our barrenness. Maybe especially so.

Prayer:
Lord, at this time I think of ____________, who I know to be in need of hope right now, and some practical sign of hope. Enter __________’s heart, and show me some way to be the means of hope in you, some way I will really act on. Through Christ. Amen.

Babel 4

Genesis 11:1-9

We have seen stages along the way that have separated humankind farther and farther from God. God responds to these chasm-widening events with judgment, but also follows that judgment with a way through. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, Cain was sent away, there was a flood. In each case there was as way beyond the catastrophe and a new way to go forth into the earth. Now humankind is dispersed into the earth, but with no evident word of grace to accompany the dispersion.

I’ll reflect on the rest of chapter 11 tomorrow. Then we’re at the end of the “primeval” history, which describes God’s dealing with all humanity. He still will deal with all humanity, of course, but chapter 12 will begin the story of God working through a specific people (and further on in the Bible through a specific individual, the one the Apostle Paul called the new Adam).

The word of grace, not evident here, is coming in a new and powerful way.

Prayer:
God, help me trust in you and your purposes even when you seem absent. In Christ. Amen.

Babel 3

Genesis 11:1-9

This passage is often read along with Acts 2 at Pentecost, celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit to the waiting church. The gift of tongues there wasn’t the inspired utterance that we read of elsewhere, but the ability people were given to understand one another even though they were speaking different languages (Acts 2:5-11).

God said, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other” (Genesis 11:7). I understand this in the same way I do another, even more difficult passage, Isaiah 6, where we find the Lord telling Isaiah to go and tell the people, “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving” (Isaiah 6:9). The only sense I have ever made of that is that in order for the people to get the message they will have to experience the full consequences of their disobedience. God, in a sense, abandons them to their own nature, but does not forget them.

Here, humanity uses the gift of language only to build a monument as a physical graph of their own human-based aspirations. The basic sin we have seen all along comes to a climax here: They have stopped listening to God and are only listening to one another, so God confuses their language so they can’t do that. They will have to learn to depend on him again, listen to him again, in order to be able to communicate with one another. The end result will be even better because they will listen to one another from out of cultural diversity. This sets up a beautiful vision of what humanity could be if we would truly place God first.

Prayer:
Lord, will I really be listening to people today? Will I get what’s in someone’s heart, or just hear what I find useful? Let your Spirit come upon me as I encounter people, so their language will be mine, and ours will be yours. Through Christ. Amen.

Babel 2

Genesis 11:1-9

Most scholarly commentary on this passage actually sees humour in the coming down of God and his heavenly host to inspect this work of humans. God doesn’t really have to come down to see anything, but this is an expression of the puniness of human aspiration to attain to divinity. The direction of the building may be vertical, but the spirit is horizontal; it’s a monument to humanity and as such it gets heavenly derision.

I asked in the previous post if the scattering is simply preventive punishment against such future folly (it can't be a matter of any threat to God), or whether it is instead – or also – a way God worked through human circumstances in fulfillment of his own command reiterated at the beginning of chapter 9 for the people to spread out and multiply. This line of thought comes from an elegant expression of the “it’s both” scenario by Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, who goes on to talk about the nature of true unity of people under God, to the effect that it’s not about conformity but a unity of Spirit within diversity – a much needed message for the world and, frankly, for the church, in which too much the sense people outside the church get is that people already in the church are more concerned about people adapting their way of things than getting to know and follow their God. This is doubly tragic because I know that this is not what church people intend to convey, because at heart they really do just desire for people to know God. This isn’t just about the ‘old’ ways. Newer ways can very quickly become idols. It’s the opposite of human consumables in that what’s inside is always good. It’s the container that has a shelf life.

Two more entries on this passage at a pivotal point in the Biblical story:
Wednesday: About language.
Thursday: As a prelude to Abraham and the story of Israel.

Prayer:
God, I can never come close to the reality of you on my own. We can’t even do that together. It is only because you have truly come down to us that we can know you, love you, and share life together as your image on earth. We welcome your Spirit in whom we find true unity, expressed in a multitude of ways. In Christ. Amen.

Babel 1

Genesis 11:1-9

Been mulling over this passage more than with anything for a while, and I may linger here for a while yet. I’ve preached on this probably a half dozen times but I’m looking at this in new ways. So far, every time humanity has messed up, God has pronounced some judgment on it, but there has been a way through. This seems different. Is the scattering here simply on judgment on human temerity? Is it, in a more positive sense, God’s way of further fulfilling his will for humanity to go forth and be fruitful? Is it both? This is the end of what the scholars call the “primeval history” section of Genesis, with the beginning of the story of Israel about to begin in Chapter 12. What’s the significance of that? Stay tuned. I think we'll spend a few days at this transition point.

Prayer:
God your Word is both mystery and truth. Thank you for the marvelous ways in which you have shared yourself and your will with your creatures. Give us a special measure of discernment as we enter into this part of your Word. Direct us through your Word to the living of our personal lives and the shaping of our life as your church for our place and time. In Christ. Amen.

A Dynamic Map

Genesis 10

In an echo of a command earlier in Genesis (Genesis 1:28), God had told Noah and his sons, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). Once again God’s Word has creative effectiveness. Chapter 10 sets out a kind of verbal map of the ensuing world. With God’s continuing sovereignty of nations, we should understand this description not as any set ethnic delineation. On the contrary, this table of nations foreshadows the world of interconnectivity that the nation of Israel would be called to bless. Although this chapter doesn’t make for obviously exciting reading, it is very impressive for the vision of an interconnected, dynamically-related world from and under the Lord. The peoples who repopulated the world after the flood would do well to treat one another with respect, along with the father (yesterday’s post) who set them in relation with one another in the world.

Prayer:
God, please send a wake up call from heaven to those nations stirring dangerously in their illusion of individual destiny. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Respectful

Genesis 9:18-29

I get a real looking-forward/looking-backward feel to this passage. As it turns out, Canaan would be a people known for false gods and related immorality (like temple prostitution). On the surface of things, the vehemence of the judgment here seems harsh. Most of us would see maybe some impropriety here. But there is the suggestion that the attitude of Ham, father of Canaan, was such that this transgression was something more than an oops. I guess we’ll never know exactly.

What’s probably most key here is that it is Shem’s (name leading to the term “Semite”) God who is blessed (verse 26). What we’re to see, I think, isn’t an ethnic bias but a theological one. Canaan would come to represent ways of people who would have only a god whose ‘worship’ would suit their own inclinations – a projection of themselves, in other words.

Our God is with us, but we would never forget the power of his being with us rests on how greater and “other” than us he truly is: a father-God to be feared in his might and authority, but a dad in his love. The sons and daughters who fully respect this God (note the totally respectful actions of verse 23) will be blessed (verse 27). But those who don’t treat him with utmost respect, well, consider Ham.

Prayer:
Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven on high
With wisdom, power and love,
Our God is an awesome God!
- Rich Mullens

Unchanging But Not Unmoved

Genesis 9:1-17

With his fresh resolve toward his creation, the Lord renews and strengthens the responsibility given humanity in the beginning. Along with that, he will consider every individual life with his/her blood of immense value to him. Even more, God hangs up his bow in the sky as a declaration that he is not at war with his creatures. On the contrary, he is unalterably committed to their well-being. As he remembered Noah, he will remember his covenant and those who are to benefit from it. To be remembered is to be honoured. As Red Saucer has pointed out, to re-member can be thought of as putting together. There’s nothing worse than being forgotten. In the midst of our troubles we view ourselves as forgotten: by others and by God. God remembers and makes a difference. He’ll pull things together. He is not unmoved by the flow of our lives or that of the world. God remembers. God remembers.

Prayer:
God, you know I’m always forgetting. I’m distracted and put off by many things. You are steady and unchanging, but now unmoved. Thanks for remembering each one of us today. Through Christ. Amen.

Flooded Heart

Genesis 8:15-22

The flood changed nothing in the heart of humans. What is revealed is an even stronger commitment on the part of the Lord toward his creation. He knows that human persons and human community cannot save themselves. This intensifies his compassion. His commitment to humanity is costly. How costly? Who can measure the flood of compassion in the heart of God? We get a pretty good picture of that centuries later.

Prayer:
God, thank you for sticking with us. I think I’m persistent? I think I can stick out the tough stuff? There is nothing like your commitment to your creation. There is nothing you desire more than for any one of us just to turn to you in returning love and trust. I now renew my declaration of reliance on you. Through Christ. Amen.

Remembering

Genesis 8:1-14

God “remembered” and new action kicks in. He carries through. It doesn’t mean he forgot anything.

Olive trees don’t grow at high elevation, so when the dove came back with the olive twig, “Noah knew that the water had receded.” And yes, this is the origin of the dove and olive branch as a sign of desired peace.

We sometimes say we’re going to “remember” someone in prayer, maybe recognizing that prayer is not a futile last resort, but part of our active faithful life. Maybe these days we should all put the remembering and the olive branch together and pray for the self-isolated regime in North Korea, and for wisdom for all those dealing with them.

Making a note to keep this "remembering" in mind for Remembrance Day.

Prayer:
God, you have shown you want to be at peace with us, and for us to be at peace with one another – not just the absence of conflict, but peace in which we truly and actively remember one another, and seek the best. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

100% Chance of Precipitation

Genesis 7

It is significant that only just before his final entry into the ark did Noah learn of God’s plan to destroy mankind by a flood. Noah completed the entire structure without knowing God’s intentions. That was to test Noah. Build a huge ship on dry land. R-i-g-h-t. (Part of Bill Cosby’s genius is in knowing great material to start with.)

The other main thing that strikes me out of the vastness of this story is the nature of the inundation – and that’s exactly what is described. If you started out with me in this reading through Genesis, you may remember that the “expanse” or firmament that God called “sky” was viewed in the cosmology of the time of writing as a thin layer holding back the waters filling the universe. So when God decided to destroy life all he had to do was open the gates to that watery chaos, and that’s what came in.

One other thing I should probably address: Whatever historical memory lies behind this whole story, it cannot now be recovered. If we concern ourselves with authenticating the history we’re going to take off on a detour from which we may never find our way back. Historical accuracy is not the issue here. As with Genesis 1, the God who deals with us could well have done things exactly and literally as described. Or it could be that the inspiration given to the writer caused him to draw on whatever traditions and stories that were around that would help him convey the truth God was giving him. To put it another way, finding the ark on Mount Ararat adds nothing to our understanding or the truth of the narrative. Not finding it proves nothing either.

The essential points are these:

• God was intensely grieved at a creation that had cut off relations with him.
• He showed he is a God who desires to cleanse and renew. That’s our great hope.

Prayer:
Lord, there are mysteries you hold in your heart that are just too great for us. You plant in us inquiring minds, and may it be our joy to learn more of you and your ways all the time. But most of all, give us that trust that Noah had, to listen and follow you, knowing the results you have in mind will be the best for us. Through Christ. Amen.

PFD

Genesis 6:9-22

We now get a note that introduces a counter-melody. Noah’s character and trust moves against the flow of sin and deterioration from chapter 3 on. Something new is at work here. Noah accepts his being as a creature who answers in trust to God’s Word to him (6:9, 22).

Sometimes just when we think things can’t get worse, well, you just don’t say that, right? But God has an answer for our cynicism. Just when it seems things can’t get worse, God will provide a way. When things seem at their worst, there is still the possibility of faith. It is in many ways a dismal world, but that’s not the whole picture, and certainly not what God intends for us. We get to choose between dismal or a boat. We could be like the early church, which thought of itself as a ship.

Prayer:
God, you could be like one of those space movie alien empires that decides life on earth is a blight on the universe and to be terminated. And you will one day end the world as we know it. But not just to destroy. I guess not even you can do what is against your own character. Let me join wholeheartedly with your grace-full alternative. In Him. Amen.

God Grief

Genesis 6:5-8

It seems that in 6:5-8 the narrator is stepping into the story to say, “Here’s where we’re at; it’s real and it’s not pretty.” What’s more, God has revealed to him something astounding: a glimpse into the divine heart and mind. We have been getting a description of the growth of sin and the deterioration of the created order God intended. Now we get God’s response. It is utter grief. It is well to remember that whatever suffering is sustained in creation is multiplied in the heart of God.

It has been pointed out that the word “wipe” here can also be translated “wash,” so it may be that God in deciding to destroy life already has Noah in mind as a way through total, irreversible destruction. So it’s not like God just has this fit of anger and trashes the place and then later will say, “OK now where was I?” No, his purpose is salvation. Washing away with water will come up again in the Bible.

Prayer:
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
Let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:7-10 (NIV)

Not So Super, Man

Genesis 6:1-4

There was and continues to be a fascination with characters who combine super-human and human traits. They inhabit a realm in a view of the cosmos that is half-way between heaven and earth. The Bible’s initial vision of things does not allow for that (there will be only one who has such a place). Recent world memory knows of an attempt to establish a super-race. It was horrible.

This little section represents the overlapping of boundaries that God has set. The order of creation is fractured. It is an extension of the breaking of the direct conversation and relationship between God and humanity that we saw in Chapter 3, with humanity aspiring to knowledge, power and control that it can’t handle on its own.

At this point in the Bible story, the intended order of creation has been thoroughly shattered. God’s intent for his broken creation is now the big question. What will he do?

Prayer:
Lord, we know you are not a defensive God. How unlike humans you are! You are not offended for your own sake that we abuse the position of trust you give us in your creation. You are hurt because you know we are hurting ourselves. No parent wants to see his kids wrecking a good thing. Let us instead be part of your solution, in Christ. Amen.

Nothing Never Happens

Genesis 5

Genealogies may not make for the most exciting reading. But they serve to show that God reveals himself in and through human events.

The ages here are astounding. Methusaleh lived to be 969 and so is the oldest person in the Bible (and this was before OHIP). The longevity of the pre-flood characters in the Bible is sometimes attributed to their proximity to the energy of creation. Others say this description is influenced by Babylonian writing that speaks of the early reign of kings of thousands of years (couldn’t the influence be in the other direction?).

With the birth of Noah there is a note of hope, and the stage is set for one of the most famous Bible stories.

Prayer:
Lord, I get so enthralled with the “big names” of the Bible it’s too easy to overlook everyone has their part in the fabric of history and the shape of things. We are each big name players for our own time and place. Help us to realize the role you have for us. Through Christ. Amen.

Civilized

Genesis 4:17-26

Humanity banished from the purity of conversation with the Lord, and even from connection with the ground from which he came, now starts out on his own endeavours. The ensuing elements of society have mixed effects. Metal working, for example, produces implements for agricultural purposes, but the same implements can be used for war. There is music but there is a also a multiplication of murder.

The pursuits associated with the growth of civilization will be both worthy and deadly. Every apparent advance will have its dark side. The hope will be in the purity of the call on the name of the Lord (verse 26).

Prayer:
Lord, help me see my true motives in things without getting tied up in knots of self-absorption. Let me live instead in the spirit of the Psalmist who asked you to examine his heart and give it a good cleaning out. Let my daily conversation be with you that what I do will be more naturally for your sake. Through Christ. Amen.

Marked

Genesis 4:1-16

The question from God that arises here is now not “Where are you?” but “Where is your brother?” The story of Cain and Abel is a chapter out of the primeval history of man. The torn relationship with God shatters peace among his creatures. The divisions have begun – at separate altars to God, no less. The terribleness of the sin is just in that it is committed not apart from God but as part of connecting with him.

What was the difference in the sacrifices? Who knows? God can make whatever choices he wants. We run into it every day. The critical part is how we respond. God tried to warn Cain. But sin appears as a monster he can’t control, making the distance between hateful emotion and hateful action very short indeed. God’s warning reminds us, however, that we are not helpless about this.

Abel’s blood cries out from the ground Cain had made a living from. Now there is a shattering of the relationship between him and the earth from which man himself had come.

Life belongs to God. That’s at the heart of the sin, but it is also the reason Cain gets protection. The meaning of ‘Nod’ is ‘fugitive.’ Murderous man’s home is a state of restlessness, alienation, no belonging. And yet God protects his life, because it still belongs to him.

Prayer:
God, your ways are mysterious. Yet we are not without insight, wisdom, much that you reveal to us as we go forward in faith. May we celebrate interdependence with one another as we go, and find you in the relationships you give us. Through Christ. Amen.

The Sentence

Genesis 3:8-24

Trust wasn’t enough for the couple. But the Gardener will not give up on them. He won’t yield his creation to anyone or anything.

For their part, the focus of the couple has changed; it is not the Gardner. A tiny little pronoun takes over: “I” (verses 10-13). Along with it: fear, hiding, blame.

The sentence that God pronounces on them seems heavy, but we need to recall 2:17, where it was indicated that death would follow disobedience. So grace appears in the sentence given here. They have life, but it will be apart from the Garden, and it will be life that is lived hand in hand with death – but we will find God dealing with that too.

Prayer:
God, give me self-awareness without self-preoccupation. Let me see and acknowledge my own rebellion. You have inexhaustible patience with those who are honest about their sin. Hiding is doubly silly becomes I am completely transparent to you, and yet you smile on me when I admit to you what you know anyway! Apparently as well as being fully of grace, you have a sense of humour. Thanks, in your Son’s name. Amen.

Analysis, Concepts and Shame

Genesis 3:1-7

There is something new here in that this is the first language about God. The serpent (not a phallic symbol or Satan but more like the first theologian) presents himself as knowing something about God. The first question posed contains a lie within a truth. There was a prohibition but it wasn’t about all trees. In reacting to this the woman exaggerates the prohibition.

The language of calling and loving response has turned to analysis and calculation. From here on, and with this as on ongoing psychological reality, joy becomes an elusive part of human experience. It seems we weren’t designed to analyze but to respond to and enjoy the divine presence. With analysis there is distortion, and the relationship of trust with God is fractured and guilt is born. Guilt has its own weight. Shame is its twin. Instead of just experience of God and one another as a matter of community and joy, we begin to have concepts. Instead of just being the reality without thinking about it, nakedness becomes a concept. The concept overlays the reality and it is something to avert our eyes from. To be naked with one another in body, mind and spirit becomes a problem. Over to you, Leonard Cohen.

Prayer:
Renew me in purity of conversation with you, Lord. Amen.

No Shame

Genesis 2:24-25

What is to explain the powerful drive toward sexual union? The answer of this text is that we began as one flesh, so have a desire to be joined together. This is a drive that overtakes even ties to the parental home. Sexual union is part of creation.

Shame and all the other angst that can be part of sexual relations is a sign that creation as it was intended is out of kilter. There are powerful drives and emotions here, which may be partly to explain why the church historically has had such a problem dealing with it. Sexual sin seems to have a special obsession. I mean, when was the last time you saw a news report about a church body having extended debate about poverty or the environment, to the same extent we end up debating sex stuff?

The sex stuff is important. As the preamble to the marriage vows in my church observes, “Marriage is a sign of the kingdom of God on earth.” The drive toward union may be a sign of the God’s intended design to bring all things together in him. Physical sex is like fire – vital and beautiful within God’s design, but dangerous and destructive when taken out of context, particularly when it becomes pornographic. That is to say, when the drive itself is what is focused on instead of being part of a relationship. That leads to the objectification of persons, leading often to the linking of sex with control and violence.

Sexual relations are where issues of trust become particularly important. Sexual sin is serious because it invariably involves – and perhaps may even be defined by – a betrayal of trust. The gift of sex is best celebrated, on the other hand, within a relationship of complete trust and growth together, in which two people can be naked together in every way, and not be ashamed.

Prayer:
God of love, you lavish on us an extravagance of all kinds of gifts. Among them is this gift of great pleasure. You are a God who intends joy for us in our service and friendship together in all kinds of ways. You truly are great and to be praised. Thank you. Through Christ. Amen.

The Mysterious Other

Genesis 2:18-25

Poor Adam. He has no “helper.” Now, I know one meaning of that word very well. I’ve done enough crummy jobs to know that a helper is the guy who does what the boss doesn’t want to be bothered with. But this goes back to the fact that it’s just not a good thing to be alone.

From the available parties, no one quite qualifies. God himself is, well, God. The man needs some companionship a bit more on his own level (although that will come even from God.) The companionship he needs is not going to come from among the animals he has had the privilege of naming either.

So something totally wonderful happens. He gets a companion who is both her own person and yet is also intimately connected to him by origin. The culture out of which the writing comes is of course scandalously patriarchal by today’s thinking. But we need to cut through that to the beautiful mystery at the heart of this: There is something deep within us that longs for union. That union is best lived if it includes respect for the mystery of the other. We are deeply connected, and yet are individuals. By some wondrous irony of God’s design, we are more connected by respecting the mystery of one another than if we make a lot of really crude assumptions about people. I don’t really need to know everything about you. It’s nice to get the end product of your appreciation of bad puns, Bach, and anything chocolate (or whatever some of your favorite things are). If you choose to let me know about anything deeper that’s up to you, and I am honoured by your sharing.

More tomorrow on the sexuality aspect of this passage.

Prayer:
God of all, I thank you for the personhood of each person sharing in this prayer with me. Through Christ in whom we are complete. Amen.

Streaming

Genesis 2:8-17

The picture is one of spreading blessing. The trees in the middle of the garden will come up again later. A couple of things here:
1. There was work to do. Work is honourable and intended for people from the beginning. The man was to take care of the garden.
2. The garden is connected to the rest of the world by means of the rivers: living, flowing energy. This image will be picked up more through Scripture, in Ezekiel 47:1-12 and Revelation 22:1-5. Every time, the image conveys the intended design of God that where his dwelling is acknowledged, it is a source of blessing for all that is around.

Prayer:
God of all, I am reminded that there is nothing that comes from me. There is only stuff that passes through. I haven’t had an original thought in my life. Nothing good I have done started with me. Yet you give me the privilege of having a part in shaping things along the way, and yet not me except as part of a community. The whole thing is multiplied by all taking part in it. What a river, what a God. Amen.

Becoming

Genesis 2:4-7

We head ever deeper into a story, a road traveled. There is important teaching here, but the teaching is not prior to the story. In other words, it is not moralistic in the sense that someone said something like, ‘I want to teach this so I’m going to tell this story to convey it.’ It’s more like real life, because that’s what it is. There are things to be discerned in our own stories, but our life stories are not concoctions to convey points. God could do that, but he seems to take our personhood more seriously than that.

We should be prepared, therefore, to find more questions raised than answers provided. But the more we are drawn into it, the more we will see ourselves in it, be drawn together and to the author. The answers we seek will come from living that story together.

We are living beings because of the breath (the same word can be translated ‘spirit’ or ‘wind’) of God in us. We can depend on him for the inspiration we need in every respect.

Prayer:
Your Word is so full of wonder, God. It has all the excitement of fantasy, but is even more intriguing and involving because it is anything but fantasy. May your Word fill my heart as well as my mind, that my understanding may come from closeness with you. Through Christ. Amen.

Sabbath

Genesis 2:1-3

Creation came into being through gracious speaking. Now God provides for the creation’s reflection on life as a gift. Sabbath rest remains a reminder that life does not depend on us and our self-seeking. It may come as a shock to some of us that the world will not fall apart if we bring a halt to our endeavours. The word relies on God’s Word and God’s commitment, not on us. It’s a way for us to say, “It’s not about me.” It is, beyond that, a welcome break from every effort we might be inclined to make to remake the world, the people around us, the organizations we’re part of, in our own image. Some of us need to be relieved of the burden of thinking nothing will work right without our stamp on it. The world has already been made, and claimed. Praise God.

Prayer:
Remind me that observing Sabbath rest is more than just showing up for worship. Let me truly rest, let go, shun the normal things of the week, get back to what it’s really about, and be remade. Let my every prayer be a Sabbath moment. Through Christ. Amen.