40:7 - It is really interesting to me that even in prison...even after all the garbage Joseph has gone through - he is concerned for how other people are doing. That speaks really highly of the character God has shaped in him through these trials.
40:8 - His very first inclination is to honor God's name, by giving God all the credit and pointing others towards God.
41:16 - Again, we see that he is always giving glory to God - that is the first thought in his mind and the first words out of his mouth. Think about how much he has matured over the years...he has gone from arrogant boy trying to humiliate his brothers with his superiority, to a humble God-fearing man who seeks only to draw attention to God. The Christian life should look similar to the life of Joseph...as we continue on our journey through good and bad situations on earth, we should always be growing in humility and growing in our focus on God.
41:29 - God weaves the patterns of the seasons of the earth to bring about his plan...to get Joseph into a position of power so that his people will thrive in Egypt and so that they will enter into a time of slavery that sets up the history of the people of God from which Jesus will be born. That is how much God loves you!
41:34 - All the overseeing God did for Potiphar and for the jailer have prepared him for the task that God has called him to as an overseer in Egypt. We see again that God very specifically shaped Joseph to be the man He needed him to be. What is God shaping to to do?
41:38 - How awesome would it be if peoples' initial reaction after meeting you and speaking with you was like this, "The Spirit of God is in this man!" (And Pharaoh was an idolatrous pagan!) What a challenge to try to aim your life towards!
41:52 - Through affliction, suffering, pain, betrayal, confusion, waiting, fear - God brought Joseph so that he would be ready. Through these things God drew Joseph to Him. Through these things God never left his side. Don't forget that when you are going through struggles.
42:5ff - After many, many years the initial prophecy that Joseph made through his dreams to his family is coming true. Sometimes in life we are called to wait on the will of God.
42:21 - His brothers must have been wracked with guilt and hurt by what they had done every day, if their minds immediately jump to this conclusion. They have trouble with the overseer and the first thing they think is - this must be because of what we did to Joseph! Guilt is a destroyer of joy and it enslaves the life. If you are suffering from guilt, you have to make things right and come clean.
42:24 - Why do you think Joseph wept here? Maybe because he is remembering back to what his brothers did to him - remembering how he begged them to let him go and they sold him into slavery anyway? Maybe because he is watching with his own eyes as God works through his brothers' wickedness to bring about His will and bring honor to Joseph? Maybe he is weeping because he finally understands that at least one of his brothers tried to stand up for him? Maybe all of the above? What do you think?
42:35 - Joseph gives the the grain for free. After everything he has been through, he is showing love and forgiveness to his brothers. He sure has come a long way. The brothers are freaked out though, because they think it is a trick.
42:38 - Favoritism is still going strong in the life of Jacob! Favoritism was the catalyst for this whole twisted affair and he still treats his other children with contempt. Crazy!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Genesis Chapters 37-39 - August 10, 2009
37:2ff - Ah, Joseph, what a fun guy to be around, huh? Tattle-tale. Favorite son. Flaunts his multi-colored coat around. Arrogant. Boastful. Tells everybody within earshot about his dreams of ruling over them. He is basically and immature, spoiled brat and God is going to allow him to go through a time of suffering and pain to forge him into the man he needs to be for God's will.
37:5ff - I fin it funny that his arrogant sharing of the dream is what leads to his brothers selling him into slavery which eventually leads to the fulfillment of the dreams and ruling over his family. Hehehe. God works in amazing ways.
38:24 - The double standard here is unbelieveably horrible. Judah is walking down the road one day and decides that it is okay for him to sleep with a pagan temple prostitute. He is okay with having sex with a woman who has sex to worship a false god...Judah's cool with that. But when he finds out that his daughter-in-law (Who he has basically rejected and refused to keep his promises to) is pregnant, he wants to have her burned! This whole chapter is one big example of what happens when you don't live out relationships in a God honoring way. Instead of going on personal witch-hunts to "burn the sinful" we need to look deeply into our own lives in light of God's truth. There's plenty in me that needs working on.
39:8-9 - Already we see Joseph maturing, don't we? Instead of blaming God and turning away from Him when his life falls apart, Joseph runs full into God's arms. He is closer to God then ever before and he lives honorably to honor God.
39:12 - When temptation pulls at Joseph, he turns and runs. What a great example for you and I to follow. Instead of making dancing around temptation and giving it a chance to take root in us...we need to run screaming from temptation and into the presence of God.
39:21 - Again Joseph is imprisoned, but again he trusts God and God makes it so that even in prison Joseph is honored by men. The prison provided another time of isolation, where Joseph can mature and grow closer to God. As all the external things are taken away from his life, he learns to depend fully on God and step out in faith. You and I could probably do with some isolation, huh?
37:5ff - I fin it funny that his arrogant sharing of the dream is what leads to his brothers selling him into slavery which eventually leads to the fulfillment of the dreams and ruling over his family. Hehehe. God works in amazing ways.
38:24 - The double standard here is unbelieveably horrible. Judah is walking down the road one day and decides that it is okay for him to sleep with a pagan temple prostitute. He is okay with having sex with a woman who has sex to worship a false god...Judah's cool with that. But when he finds out that his daughter-in-law (Who he has basically rejected and refused to keep his promises to) is pregnant, he wants to have her burned! This whole chapter is one big example of what happens when you don't live out relationships in a God honoring way. Instead of going on personal witch-hunts to "burn the sinful" we need to look deeply into our own lives in light of God's truth. There's plenty in me that needs working on.
39:8-9 - Already we see Joseph maturing, don't we? Instead of blaming God and turning away from Him when his life falls apart, Joseph runs full into God's arms. He is closer to God then ever before and he lives honorably to honor God.
39:12 - When temptation pulls at Joseph, he turns and runs. What a great example for you and I to follow. Instead of making dancing around temptation and giving it a chance to take root in us...we need to run screaming from temptation and into the presence of God.
39:21 - Again Joseph is imprisoned, but again he trusts God and God makes it so that even in prison Joseph is honored by men. The prison provided another time of isolation, where Joseph can mature and grow closer to God. As all the external things are taken away from his life, he learns to depend fully on God and step out in faith. You and I could probably do with some isolation, huh?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Genesis Chapters 34-36 - August 6, 2009
34:31 (Whoa! Intense story there!) This is how every Christian young man should view the young women they share this world with - we won't allow anyone to treat or sisters like a prostitute, and we will not treat our sisters like prostitutes! Our sisters in humanity are worthy of honor, and not to be treated like objects to be possessed.
35:2 - How many times does this theme reoccur in the Old Testament, where the people of God are allowing idols from the cultures around them to creep into their lives? This has always been a problem for God's people, and it still is today - isn't it?
36:24 - Out of the midst of a list of names, jumps some extra information about this guy named Anah (It's kinda like an oasis in the desert - it breaks up the monotony). I am out of office this week and away from my study materials, so let's make a game of this...who can tell me why Moses thought it was so important to give us this extra info. about Anah (Moses most likely put the Genesis account together)?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Genesis Chapters 31-33 - August 5, 2009
Hey, sorry about the long wait (Mission Week last week and vacation this week!). We went to the Glen Rose Dinosaur Valley this morning and as soon as I finish here, we are going to the Glen Rose Creation Museum...that should be really cool!
I don't have time to do the usual, so I will just say a few things (I did read the chapters) and look forward to reading your comments...
31:19 - Household gods were local deities that people worshipped (In ancient times, most cultures believed that certain gods resided in certain areas of the earth...each country had its own gods and depending on whose gods were more powerful - that country was more powerful). Rachel stole the idols, possibly believing that she would be taking her fathers gods with her. How often do we take sin and idolatry from our past into new commitments we have made to God? That's a good way to derail the calling God has placed on your life!
32:26 - This whole time with all the lying and cheating and stealing, Jacob is desperately searching for his worth and his place in the world. Guess where he finds it? By clinging to God. I would suggest we do the same. Forget what other flawed humans think about you and focus on what the creator of all things thinks about you.
33:10 - When we forgive one another, like Esau forgave Jacob, it i like we are reflecting the image of God. Forgiveness is beautiful.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Genesis Chapters 28-30 - July 22, 2009
28:9 - Ishmael is trying desperately to please his father, but he has already denied his birthright, lost his blessing and rashly married women his parents didn't approve of...he refused to enter into the will of God as the favored son of his family and it passed him by.
28:12 - I think Jacob gets a glance at the reality of the unseen world that is all around us. He sees angels going back and forth from earth to heaven...sees into the spiritual realm. There is a world and a battle that is raging all around us that we rarely think about...but it is real and souls are being contended for every moment.
28:15 - The covenant of Abraham is confirmed in the life of Jacob. A hugely important moment for Jacob and for the history of God's people. Jacob will become the father of the Israelite nation. Like Abraham before him, he commemorates that moment by making a monument, so he will never forget what God has done for him.
29-30 - These stories just blow my mind! God uses such broken people to bring about His will. We see jealousy, lies, lust, favoritism, hatred, and much much more unfold in this story and we are looking at the foundations of the people of God! God's chosen people! When I stop holding judgement over these people, I start to realize that my life contains a lot of those some kinds of things...and I, unlike them, am a temple of the Holy Spirit of God! I thank the Lord that He is willing to work through my brokenness...and I thank God for the gift of His son, who gives me the chance to appear righteous before God - through none of my own actions, but through his sacrifice!
28:12 - I think Jacob gets a glance at the reality of the unseen world that is all around us. He sees angels going back and forth from earth to heaven...sees into the spiritual realm. There is a world and a battle that is raging all around us that we rarely think about...but it is real and souls are being contended for every moment.
28:15 - The covenant of Abraham is confirmed in the life of Jacob. A hugely important moment for Jacob and for the history of God's people. Jacob will become the father of the Israelite nation. Like Abraham before him, he commemorates that moment by making a monument, so he will never forget what God has done for him.
29-30 - These stories just blow my mind! God uses such broken people to bring about His will. We see jealousy, lies, lust, favoritism, hatred, and much much more unfold in this story and we are looking at the foundations of the people of God! God's chosen people! When I stop holding judgement over these people, I start to realize that my life contains a lot of those some kinds of things...and I, unlike them, am a temple of the Holy Spirit of God! I thank the Lord that He is willing to work through my brokenness...and I thank God for the gift of His son, who gives me the chance to appear righteous before God - through none of my own actions, but through his sacrifice!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Genesis Chapters 25-27 - July 21, 2009
25:18 - Just as God promised Hagar, Ishmael's family would also grow into a great nation of people. Mandy of the Bedouin tribes of the middle east are descendants of Ishmael. Verse 18 also confirms the second part of God's prophecy about Ishmael...his people would always be against the Israelites. Even when God is working out His will through our positive and negative choices, there are often far-reaching consequences for our sins.
25:28 - From that line right there, you know there is going to be trouble. Nothing good ever comes when parents so favoritism amongst their children. It's crazy - you'd think with the incredible oral story telling tradition of the Hebrew people, they would start to figure it out as they told these stories!
25:29 - Huge decisions about your future should not be made while exhausted and hungry...just a tip.
26:6 - What in the world! Do they teach this in Abe's family or something?! Again with the sister thing? It amazes me that these men can be so faithful to God...trusting Him to lead them and protect them...and yet, they have these times of weakness, where they can't even trust God to protect them from some semi-powerful king! The faith journey has its ups and downs, and you hope that the legacy you leave behind is one of faith, not faithlessness.
26:8 - How does the king know they are husband and wife just because they were laughing together. Well, the Hebrew suggests that there was a little more than laughing going on...something a little more intimate. They would have gotten in huge trouble in my youth group for PDA!
26:22 - I like the spirit of Isaac...he is the bigger man here. When there is conflict he just moves on until he finds a place that offers enough space and a peaceful solution for everyone. It is hard to seek peace at any cost...even the cost of your pride, and we can see in the verse after that - that no one loses respect for Isaac.
26:34 - Why does marrying the Hittite women drive Isaac and Rebekah crazy? Well, Esau is the firstborn and in their mines, the heir of the bloodline of Abraham...and he has broken the family tradition. Abraham desperately wanted Issac to marry someone from their family tree and I'm sure Isaac wanted the same thing for his firstborn. Esau rejects the tradition and even goes so far as to marry multiple foreign women. He has already rejected his birthright...now he has broken the family tradition, and we will soon see that God just completely passes Him over as the heir of Abraham's line. If we are not willing to answer the call that God places on our lives...God will find someone else to replace us. Nobody can stop the will of God. You can either choose to be a part of His will, or outside of His will. Choose wisely!
27: It has always bugged me that Rebekah and Jacob pull this huge trick on Issac. I never understood why God would use lies and trickery to guide Jacob into becoming the father of Israel. But we see in the chapters before, that Esau had already disrespected his place in the family of God's people...he was a rash man bent on serving his own will. Jacob at least was reluctant to lie to his father and only did so at the bidding of his mother...and it is a powerful testimony that God can even use flawed and sinful individuals to bring about His plan.
25:28 - From that line right there, you know there is going to be trouble. Nothing good ever comes when parents so favoritism amongst their children. It's crazy - you'd think with the incredible oral story telling tradition of the Hebrew people, they would start to figure it out as they told these stories!
25:29 - Huge decisions about your future should not be made while exhausted and hungry...just a tip.
26:6 - What in the world! Do they teach this in Abe's family or something?! Again with the sister thing? It amazes me that these men can be so faithful to God...trusting Him to lead them and protect them...and yet, they have these times of weakness, where they can't even trust God to protect them from some semi-powerful king! The faith journey has its ups and downs, and you hope that the legacy you leave behind is one of faith, not faithlessness.
26:8 - How does the king know they are husband and wife just because they were laughing together. Well, the Hebrew suggests that there was a little more than laughing going on...something a little more intimate. They would have gotten in huge trouble in my youth group for PDA!
26:22 - I like the spirit of Isaac...he is the bigger man here. When there is conflict he just moves on until he finds a place that offers enough space and a peaceful solution for everyone. It is hard to seek peace at any cost...even the cost of your pride, and we can see in the verse after that - that no one loses respect for Isaac.
26:34 - Why does marrying the Hittite women drive Isaac and Rebekah crazy? Well, Esau is the firstborn and in their mines, the heir of the bloodline of Abraham...and he has broken the family tradition. Abraham desperately wanted Issac to marry someone from their family tree and I'm sure Isaac wanted the same thing for his firstborn. Esau rejects the tradition and even goes so far as to marry multiple foreign women. He has already rejected his birthright...now he has broken the family tradition, and we will soon see that God just completely passes Him over as the heir of Abraham's line. If we are not willing to answer the call that God places on our lives...God will find someone else to replace us. Nobody can stop the will of God. You can either choose to be a part of His will, or outside of His will. Choose wisely!
27: It has always bugged me that Rebekah and Jacob pull this huge trick on Issac. I never understood why God would use lies and trickery to guide Jacob into becoming the father of Israel. But we see in the chapters before, that Esau had already disrespected his place in the family of God's people...he was a rash man bent on serving his own will. Jacob at least was reluctant to lie to his father and only did so at the bidding of his mother...and it is a powerful testimony that God can even use flawed and sinful individuals to bring about His plan.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Genesis Chapters 22-24 - June 20, 2009
22:2-3 - Can you imagine this? After everything Abraham has gone through, he finally gets the child he has been waiting for from the first time God made a covenant with him...and now God is asking him to sacrifice the boy! And how does Abraham respond? He acts immediately. He utterly trusts God and is willing to follow wherever the Lord calls. His faith is incredible!
22:6ff - This whole sacrifice is a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus. Abraham is the father of God's chosen people. God is the father of all. Issac is Abraham's firstborn son. Jesus is the one and only son of God. God calls Abraham to sacrifice Issac to test his faith, and also to give us a glimpse into His insanely awesome love for us, that leads God to let Jesus die. Issac even has to carry the wood that he will be sacrificed on like Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha. But God is merciful and loving and provides a different sacrifice for Abraham. He showed the same love and mercy for us by sacrificing Jesus in our place...by allowing His own son to die. Really intense imagery.
23:6 - Again we see that Abraham's faith is lived out for all to see. Everywhere he goes, people know who he is and know that he is a man of God and he is respected for it. How cool would that be, if everywhere you went people immediately knew and respected you because of your faith. That is a legacy to live out right there!
24:7ff - Abraham is faithfully waiting for God to fulfill His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. He is not giving up and he refuses to allow his people to turn back or look back at the past. He makes his servant swear that he will not allow Isaac to go back where they came from...God brought them into Canaan for a reason and Abraham absolutes trusts God. From the beginning to the end of his life he trusts God. He never questions...he never buys time...he simply waits for God to move and acts immediately when God calls on him. There is a beautiful simplicity to the life and faith of Abraham.
24:20 - Rebekah is selfless and servant-hearted...not a bad place to start when you are looking for future wives gentlemen (Oh yeah, and she was hot too!). Ladies, selfless and servant-hearted works with husband candidates too (You ladies can start looking when you about 25), by that time there might be a few guys who are mature enough to handle committed relationships with God-fearing women.
24:27 - I find it really cool that the servant doesn't try to take any credit for finding Rebekah...he immediately gives God all credit for finding Isaac a suitable wife. This is a great lesson for modern Christians to learn. Here in the states we are so ego-driven and self-centered, that many times we allow those attitudes to creep into our spiritual lives. We would do well to follow the example of the servant and give God credit for anything good in our lives.
22:6ff - This whole sacrifice is a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus. Abraham is the father of God's chosen people. God is the father of all. Issac is Abraham's firstborn son. Jesus is the one and only son of God. God calls Abraham to sacrifice Issac to test his faith, and also to give us a glimpse into His insanely awesome love for us, that leads God to let Jesus die. Issac even has to carry the wood that he will be sacrificed on like Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha. But God is merciful and loving and provides a different sacrifice for Abraham. He showed the same love and mercy for us by sacrificing Jesus in our place...by allowing His own son to die. Really intense imagery.
23:6 - Again we see that Abraham's faith is lived out for all to see. Everywhere he goes, people know who he is and know that he is a man of God and he is respected for it. How cool would that be, if everywhere you went people immediately knew and respected you because of your faith. That is a legacy to live out right there!
24:7ff - Abraham is faithfully waiting for God to fulfill His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. He is not giving up and he refuses to allow his people to turn back or look back at the past. He makes his servant swear that he will not allow Isaac to go back where they came from...God brought them into Canaan for a reason and Abraham absolutes trusts God. From the beginning to the end of his life he trusts God. He never questions...he never buys time...he simply waits for God to move and acts immediately when God calls on him. There is a beautiful simplicity to the life and faith of Abraham.
24:20 - Rebekah is selfless and servant-hearted...not a bad place to start when you are looking for future wives gentlemen (Oh yeah, and she was hot too!). Ladies, selfless and servant-hearted works with husband candidates too (You ladies can start looking when you about 25), by that time there might be a few guys who are mature enough to handle committed relationships with God-fearing women.
24:27 - I find it really cool that the servant doesn't try to take any credit for finding Rebekah...he immediately gives God all credit for finding Isaac a suitable wife. This is a great lesson for modern Christians to learn. Here in the states we are so ego-driven and self-centered, that many times we allow those attitudes to creep into our spiritual lives. We would do well to follow the example of the servant and give God credit for anything good in our lives.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Genesis Chapters 19-21 - July 17, 2009
19:14 - Doubting God can be absolutely disastrous. Lot's son-in-laws are not mentioned again, because they dies alongside everyone else in Sodom. They leave behind a legacy of a lack of faith. With their husbands dead, Lot's daughters seduce him and have children by their father! Ewwww.
19:26 - It's easy to say, "All she did was look back, what is up with that?" Bu she was specifically told not to look back - she acted disobediently and rebelliously. I believe there is also something more to her looking back...I don't think she was just watching the fireworks show, I think she was looking back with longing on her old life amidst the corruption of Sodom. When you have been saved by God...you don't look back to the old life with longing.
19:37 - Again the lack of faith legacy of Lot's family. Their husbands are dead because they refused to believe God...now the girls commit incest because they don' trust that God can provide them with new husbands. Their sinful tricking of their dad led to them bearing the Moabite and Ammorite nations, which consequently became a thorn in the side of Israel for years. Great legacy.
20:2 - Again!? Seriously Abe, that is ridiculous. How vile and selfish is it to lead other people into sin in an attempt o save our own butt?
21:11-12 - Abraham is actually uncomfortable with rejecting his son Ishmael...why is God okay with it? Because of the animosity and hatred that would exist between Ish and Isaac as they grew up. God knew that he had to protect the line of Isaac for His eternal plan (And He still took care of Ish).
21:22 - People know when you are living for God...they can see the difference. Abraham's' legacy of faith is so much more beautiful that Lot's legacy of doubt. Which camp do you find yourself in more often?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Genesis Chapters 16-18 - June 16, 2009
16:2ff - Impatience and lack of faith lead to vast consequences int history of man. Sarai takes things into her owns hands and gives her servant for Abram to take as a wife (STUPID!). "Shockingly", when the Hagar conceives she looks down on Sarai...Hagar is younger and pregnant and Sarai is older, bitter and jealous. When these two women clash, it leads to the most world changing spilt in the history of man...Ishmael becomes the father of the Arabs and Isaac the father of the Jews. To this day there is hatred between them that started in Genesis 16.
16:6 - I gotta say, Abram kinda ticks me off here...he may be a faithful man of God, but he is definitely not perfect. He takes Hagar as a wife, but then rejects her and refuses to treat her like one. He basically used her for sex and a son and turned her away. That's horrible...Hagar is just as much God's daughter as Sarai and we see that in the next few verses.
16:11 - God hears the cry of the oppressed Hagar and comforts her. She names the place where he meets her Beer-lahai-roi, which means "the living God sees me." How awesome is that name! The living God sees me. You and I have a living God who sees us...who hears our cries...who offers us comfort and strength. That is really good!
17:8 - You may look at God promising Abram that the Jewish people will have possession of the Promised Land forever and wonder how He can say that when they constantly lose it in the Old Testament and they aren't really in control of it today. Was God lying? No. God made an everlasting covenant with His people, but in a covenant, both sides have to keep up their end of the deal. The Jews have often rejected God for others and paid a heavy price for it.
17:13 - What is this circumcision stuff all about? It is a show of commitment and sacrifice. It is symbol of cutting away the other things that have kept people from God...cutting away the useless flesh represents cutting away the useless things we chase after. It is a cleaner and healthier way for a man to live and this represented the set apart nature of followers of God.
17:23 - It says that Abraham had himself and every one of his males relatives and servants circumcised THAT VERY DAY! There are not excuses...there is no stalling...Abraham hears the voice of God calling him to act and he acts. Maybe we should try that.
18:1ff - Okay we have to talk a little about this crazy encounter with the Lord/three guys that show up. The author treats the three men in this passage as God in the form of three humans. It says the Lord appeared to Abraham and goes on to explain that He looked like three men. Maybe representing the Father, Son and Spirit? If you look at the questions the men ask, it reminds you a great deal of the conversations Jesus had with people int he New Testament (Think the "Book of John" Matt). The strangers ask questions they know the answers to, to push the dialogue. "Where is Sarah? Why does she laugh? Etc." This shows the divine nature of the three guys, not to mention the fact that they are moving on to Sodom and Gomorrah to bring judgement.
18:23 - These types of situations always used to mess with my mind - is Abraham's plan better than God's plan? No. Here is what I, Brandon Forsythe, believe. I believe that God understands that death is not the end - if there are righteous in Sodom that die alongside the wicked in a mass destruction...they will receive justice in the end. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is already happening in God's view of time, because He is outside of time and can see everything simultaneously. So the righteous are covered in the blood of the lamb. In death they will recieve life...they will go to paradise. God changes His mode of operating to accommodate Abraham's lack of understanding in my opinion.
16:6 - I gotta say, Abram kinda ticks me off here...he may be a faithful man of God, but he is definitely not perfect. He takes Hagar as a wife, but then rejects her and refuses to treat her like one. He basically used her for sex and a son and turned her away. That's horrible...Hagar is just as much God's daughter as Sarai and we see that in the next few verses.
16:11 - God hears the cry of the oppressed Hagar and comforts her. She names the place where he meets her Beer-lahai-roi, which means "the living God sees me." How awesome is that name! The living God sees me. You and I have a living God who sees us...who hears our cries...who offers us comfort and strength. That is really good!
17:8 - You may look at God promising Abram that the Jewish people will have possession of the Promised Land forever and wonder how He can say that when they constantly lose it in the Old Testament and they aren't really in control of it today. Was God lying? No. God made an everlasting covenant with His people, but in a covenant, both sides have to keep up their end of the deal. The Jews have often rejected God for others and paid a heavy price for it.
17:13 - What is this circumcision stuff all about? It is a show of commitment and sacrifice. It is symbol of cutting away the other things that have kept people from God...cutting away the useless flesh represents cutting away the useless things we chase after. It is a cleaner and healthier way for a man to live and this represented the set apart nature of followers of God.
17:23 - It says that Abraham had himself and every one of his males relatives and servants circumcised THAT VERY DAY! There are not excuses...there is no stalling...Abraham hears the voice of God calling him to act and he acts. Maybe we should try that.
18:1ff - Okay we have to talk a little about this crazy encounter with the Lord/three guys that show up. The author treats the three men in this passage as God in the form of three humans. It says the Lord appeared to Abraham and goes on to explain that He looked like three men. Maybe representing the Father, Son and Spirit? If you look at the questions the men ask, it reminds you a great deal of the conversations Jesus had with people int he New Testament (Think the "Book of John" Matt). The strangers ask questions they know the answers to, to push the dialogue. "Where is Sarah? Why does she laugh? Etc." This shows the divine nature of the three guys, not to mention the fact that they are moving on to Sodom and Gomorrah to bring judgement.
18:23 - These types of situations always used to mess with my mind - is Abraham's plan better than God's plan? No. Here is what I, Brandon Forsythe, believe. I believe that God understands that death is not the end - if there are righteous in Sodom that die alongside the wicked in a mass destruction...they will receive justice in the end. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is already happening in God's view of time, because He is outside of time and can see everything simultaneously. So the righteous are covered in the blood of the lamb. In death they will recieve life...they will go to paradise. God changes His mode of operating to accommodate Abraham's lack of understanding in my opinion.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Genesis Chapters 13-15 - June 15, 2009
13:4 - Abram goes back to a place he had an incredible experience with God and reconnects with God. It is good for us to have sacred spaces where we have connected with God over and over - not because those places themselves are holy, but because your heart and mind are often more open to listening to God in a place where He's spoken to you before.
13:10 - The easiest road is rarely the road to take. Lot takes the land in the Jordan valley that is fertile and good and sets up shop near Sodom. Hmmm, where have I heard that name before...Sodom? Oh that's right, Lot and his family get swept up in the evil of Sodom and almost die in a hail of fireballs (His wife does get killed for looking back)...then his daughters get him drunk and sleep with him, but that is in a later chapter. Abram gets the harder land to live off of, but actually finds a place to rest in God. The tougher path is usually better.
14:17ff - So I have to talk about this crazy guy Melchizedek don't I? I'm not going to leave you hanging like that? Who is he? Is he really a priest of the God of Abram - the one and only God. Well in the Hebrew, it says that Melchizedek is a priest of "El Elyon" - a priest of the most high God. If we wanted to take the easy way out, we could just assume that Melchizedek worshipped the one true God, but Canaanites also referred to their gods as El. Melchizedek is most likely a pagan Canaanite priest/king that Abram shows respect to because he is powerful. The story of Melchizedek gets crazy when Jewish thinkers over the years began to create legends revolving around him. Some say he was God's priest but lost his priesthood to Abram because of arrogance. Some began to think he was the angel Michael. In other words, by the time the writer of Hebrews came along, Melchizedek was a figure of legend and great power in the mind of many Jews. So when the writer of Hebrews talks about Jesus being a more powerful priest than Melchizedek, he is not saying that Melchizedek was a follower of God...the writer is saying that Jesus is more powerful and a better priest than even the Jews mythical thought about the legendary Melchizedek. Kinda like saying he is more powerful than Superman. Hope that makes some sense.
15:4-6 - God promises the very old Abram that he will have offspring and because Abram believes God, he is called righteous. The righteousness that believers like you and me receive from God also comes through belief.
15:12-21 - I love the imagery of this passage. God makes a covenant with Abram in the style of people in the ancient near east. They would making a binding contract with one another by cutting animals in half and laying them on the ground in the path of blood that both parties would walk through. As they passed through the blood path, they were in essence telling one another that if they broke their covenant their bodies could be torn in half like those animals. Pretty brutal, yet I'm sure it was very effective. In this passage from Genesis, who is it that walks through the blood path? Is it both God and Abram? No - it is simply God. God makes this covenant with Abram and basically says that he is going to hold both ends of the deal up. He is going to remain faithful to His people and He is going to pay the blood price when His people break the covenant (Like we all do!). Jesus body was torn and broken to pay the price for us breaking our covenant with God. That is how loving and faithful our Father in heaven is!
13:10 - The easiest road is rarely the road to take. Lot takes the land in the Jordan valley that is fertile and good and sets up shop near Sodom. Hmmm, where have I heard that name before...Sodom? Oh that's right, Lot and his family get swept up in the evil of Sodom and almost die in a hail of fireballs (His wife does get killed for looking back)...then his daughters get him drunk and sleep with him, but that is in a later chapter. Abram gets the harder land to live off of, but actually finds a place to rest in God. The tougher path is usually better.
14:17ff - So I have to talk about this crazy guy Melchizedek don't I? I'm not going to leave you hanging like that? Who is he? Is he really a priest of the God of Abram - the one and only God. Well in the Hebrew, it says that Melchizedek is a priest of "El Elyon" - a priest of the most high God. If we wanted to take the easy way out, we could just assume that Melchizedek worshipped the one true God, but Canaanites also referred to their gods as El. Melchizedek is most likely a pagan Canaanite priest/king that Abram shows respect to because he is powerful. The story of Melchizedek gets crazy when Jewish thinkers over the years began to create legends revolving around him. Some say he was God's priest but lost his priesthood to Abram because of arrogance. Some began to think he was the angel Michael. In other words, by the time the writer of Hebrews came along, Melchizedek was a figure of legend and great power in the mind of many Jews. So when the writer of Hebrews talks about Jesus being a more powerful priest than Melchizedek, he is not saying that Melchizedek was a follower of God...the writer is saying that Jesus is more powerful and a better priest than even the Jews mythical thought about the legendary Melchizedek. Kinda like saying he is more powerful than Superman. Hope that makes some sense.
15:4-6 - God promises the very old Abram that he will have offspring and because Abram believes God, he is called righteous. The righteousness that believers like you and me receive from God also comes through belief.
15:12-21 - I love the imagery of this passage. God makes a covenant with Abram in the style of people in the ancient near east. They would making a binding contract with one another by cutting animals in half and laying them on the ground in the path of blood that both parties would walk through. As they passed through the blood path, they were in essence telling one another that if they broke their covenant their bodies could be torn in half like those animals. Pretty brutal, yet I'm sure it was very effective. In this passage from Genesis, who is it that walks through the blood path? Is it both God and Abram? No - it is simply God. God makes this covenant with Abram and basically says that he is going to hold both ends of the deal up. He is going to remain faithful to His people and He is going to pay the blood price when His people break the covenant (Like we all do!). Jesus body was torn and broken to pay the price for us breaking our covenant with God. That is how loving and faithful our Father in heaven is!
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