"Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed."... Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death."
In the Old Testament tradition, it is your father's responsibility to find you a suitable wife. You can pick out one that you want, but ultimately the father has the last say in obtaining a wife for you. Such is the story of Isaac and Rebekah with an interesting twist; It was Abraham's Father in heaven who directed and arranged the marriage.
Notice in v67 that Isaac loved her, despite having just met her. Why? Because the LORD already knows who is compatible because he searches their hearts. If you submit to His will for your wife, you will not be disappointed (and same goes for ladies). Because you know that the LORD has made directed your marriage, you know already that your marriage will stand on a firm foundation for what God has joined together let no man separate. (Mark 10:9)
Be content with where God has you. He knows what you need and when you need it and if he sees fit to give you a wife or a husband it will be not only the right time, but also the right person. Give up the chase and let God give you grace! Hallelujah!
Footnote: Of course this is all contingent on God actually being your Father...
Showing posts with label genesis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genesis. Show all posts
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Genesis 40:8
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?”
Do not interpretations belong to God? Scripture must be read prayerfully and interpreted with a humble spirit. We must first admit to ourselves that we know nothing and only then can we be open to the teaching God through his word. We must be sure we interpret with the Holy Spirit, the author or the Word. But should it not be that Scripture interprets us?
The Word of God is not simply some ordinary object to be studied and picked apart. It has all power and authority to direct our lives. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. It is his word and our guide. It is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. It is the self revelation of God to the world.
And who can say they understand the word of God unless the Spirit himself reveals the truth in the words? You can read the Bible and gain nothing from it because only spiritual minds understand spiritual truths. Only God reveals himself to whom he wills and so all true interpretations belong to God. Anything else is a distortion towards destruction. God is inerrant in His Word and thus any addition or subtraction is an imperfection and sacrilege. To wield the Word is a frightful thing, sharper than any sword and more impactful than any cannon. Handle with care.
Do not interpretations belong to God? Scripture must be read prayerfully and interpreted with a humble spirit. We must first admit to ourselves that we know nothing and only then can we be open to the teaching God through his word. We must be sure we interpret with the Holy Spirit, the author or the Word. But should it not be that Scripture interprets us?
The Word of God is not simply some ordinary object to be studied and picked apart. It has all power and authority to direct our lives. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. It is his word and our guide. It is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. It is the self revelation of God to the world.
And who can say they understand the word of God unless the Spirit himself reveals the truth in the words? You can read the Bible and gain nothing from it because only spiritual minds understand spiritual truths. Only God reveals himself to whom he wills and so all true interpretations belong to God. Anything else is a distortion towards destruction. God is inerrant in His Word and thus any addition or subtraction is an imperfection and sacrilege. To wield the Word is a frightful thing, sharper than any sword and more impactful than any cannon. Handle with care.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Genesis 42:15-16
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
Joseph's entire life is defined by integrity and humility. He never thinks of himself as more than he is. He is more careful to be pure than to be thought pure, as was the case with the Potiphar's wife. And so even as he was considered the least of all his brothers, so now will he become the greatest. Because he was humble? No. Because God was with him and gave him success in all that he did. Humility is the attitude that allows God to do what God does naturally.
Joseph understands that if it were not for God, he could do nothing in this situation. And rather than take credit for something he could not actually do, he gives the credit to God. This is humility, the ability to acknowledge one's own position in relation to God.
If a man were to give you a compliment, do not let it go to your head and inflate your ego. Rather thank God who gives you all things. After all, you did not make yourself.
"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
Joseph's entire life is defined by integrity and humility. He never thinks of himself as more than he is. He is more careful to be pure than to be thought pure, as was the case with the Potiphar's wife. And so even as he was considered the least of all his brothers, so now will he become the greatest. Because he was humble? No. Because God was with him and gave him success in all that he did. Humility is the attitude that allows God to do what God does naturally.
Joseph understands that if it were not for God, he could do nothing in this situation. And rather than take credit for something he could not actually do, he gives the credit to God. This is humility, the ability to acknowledge one's own position in relation to God.
If a man were to give you a compliment, do not let it go to your head and inflate your ego. Rather thank God who gives you all things. After all, you did not make yourself.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Genesis 6:6
"The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain."
Did God fail? Was his creation a mistake to regret?
In order to determine if God failed, we must first determine what God set out to do in the first place.
Did God fail? Was his creation a mistake to regret?
In order to determine if God failed, we must first determine what God set out to do in the first place.
If you say "God failed to create mankind without sin", you would be in error for we were created good and perfectly. If you say "God failed to create mankind without the capacity to sin", you are also in error not because mankind has no capacity to sin, but because that is not what God purposed to do in the first place. You cannot fail in that which you did not even try to do.
So did God fail when he realized how wicked humanity was through Sin? Well what was his original intention? For mankind, to create us in His image and give us free dominion over all the Earth so that we might walk with the Lord.
So did God fail when he realized how wicked humanity was through Sin? Well what was his original intention? For mankind, to create us in His image and give us free dominion over all the Earth so that we might walk with the Lord.
Had God wiped out all of humanity during the flood, then yes, he would've failed. Had sin and Satan had the final say in keeping us in eternal separation from God, then yes, God would've failed. However, we still remain and the truth of the matter is that we Christians are those who now walk with God and have dominion over and against Satan, being remade into His image. How? Through Jesus Christ's redemptive work on the cross, he has humiliated Satan and rescued us from his domain. It is because of the truth of Jesus Christ that I can tell you with confidence that despite Genesis 6:6, God has not failed to do what he set out to do.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Genesis 18:25
"Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Will not the Judge of all the Earth do right?"
Abraham is not pleading to change God's will. The story wasn't written to give an account of history but as narrative theology. This is a righteous God, who for the sake of ten righteous people, would not wipe out the entire wicked city. Because of ten righteous people, the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would be spared even though everyone but those ten were wicked. That is the scope of the grace of God.
However, "there is no one who is righteous, not even one... All have turned away, they have together become worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one." (Ps 14:1-3; Rom 3:10,12) We should've become just like Sodom. We should've wept just like Gomorrah. So why do we rejoice?
Because there was and is a Righteous One in our midst. For the sake of one righteous man, God had spared the entirety of the world. It is because that Righteous One dwells with us through the power of the Holy Spirit that our cities are spared. And not only does this Righteous One dwell with us, he is only present because God himself sent him so that he might spare us. That is the scope of the grace our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the present reality we live.
Abraham is not pleading to change God's will. The story wasn't written to give an account of history but as narrative theology. This is a righteous God, who for the sake of ten righteous people, would not wipe out the entire wicked city. Because of ten righteous people, the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would be spared even though everyone but those ten were wicked. That is the scope of the grace of God.
However, "there is no one who is righteous, not even one... All have turned away, they have together become worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one." (Ps 14:1-3; Rom 3:10,12) We should've become just like Sodom. We should've wept just like Gomorrah. So why do we rejoice?
Because there was and is a Righteous One in our midst. For the sake of one righteous man, God had spared the entirety of the world. It is because that Righteous One dwells with us through the power of the Holy Spirit that our cities are spared. And not only does this Righteous One dwell with us, he is only present because God himself sent him so that he might spare us. That is the scope of the grace our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the present reality we live.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Genesis 34:31
"But they replied, 'Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?'"
Dinah was raped.
She is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned among his twelve sons, and she was raped by a man named Shechem, the local ruler. After raping her, Shechem "loved her" and "spoke tenderly" to her and desired to marry her. This isn't love. It's abuse.
Dinah's brothers burned with anger and were filled with grief over Dinah, their beloved sister. When Shechem and Hamor came to ask for Dinah's hand in marriage, the sons of Israel tricked them, agreeing only if every male in their household was circumcised. And while they were still recovering from the pain of circumcision, Simeon and Levi killed every last male in the city to avenge Dinah. They looted everything, women and children included. Jacob tells them they should not have done such a thing. Their response is in the verse above. The price of vengeance was generations of conflict between the Israelites and Canaanites and Perizzites.
This isn't a story on how to handle conflict or on forgiveness. They refused wealth, peace, and security for the sake of their sister's honor. We can argue about if what they did was right, but have you forgotten someone? This story is about Dinah. At the end of the day, there is a woman, bruised, broken, and traumatized from sexual abuse. Our sisters have been defiled. The question is, "What are we going to do about it?"
Dinah was raped.
She is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned among his twelve sons, and she was raped by a man named Shechem, the local ruler. After raping her, Shechem "loved her" and "spoke tenderly" to her and desired to marry her. This isn't love. It's abuse.
Dinah's brothers burned with anger and were filled with grief over Dinah, their beloved sister. When Shechem and Hamor came to ask for Dinah's hand in marriage, the sons of Israel tricked them, agreeing only if every male in their household was circumcised. And while they were still recovering from the pain of circumcision, Simeon and Levi killed every last male in the city to avenge Dinah. They looted everything, women and children included. Jacob tells them they should not have done such a thing. Their response is in the verse above. The price of vengeance was generations of conflict between the Israelites and Canaanites and Perizzites.
This isn't a story on how to handle conflict or on forgiveness. They refused wealth, peace, and security for the sake of their sister's honor. We can argue about if what they did was right, but have you forgotten someone? This story is about Dinah. At the end of the day, there is a woman, bruised, broken, and traumatized from sexual abuse. Our sisters have been defiled. The question is, "What are we going to do about it?"
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Genesis 29:30-31
"Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah... When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren."
Just as Israel cannot serve two masters, he cannot serve two wives. The tension between sisters Rachel and Leah is sibling rivalry to the extreme as they both compete for the love and attention of Jacob.
But even though the situation is complicated, the LORD provides for Leah when Jacob ignores her. She bears him 4 sons in a row (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah) and Rachel is jealous. Rachel gives Jacob another wife, her servant Bilhah, and gains two sons (Dan and Naphtali) in response to Leah's four. Leah in turn retaliates with her own maidservant Zilpah, given her as a wife and gaining two more sons (Gad and Asher) and then has two more sons herself (Issachar and Zebulun) and a daughter (Dinah) after hiring Jacob's "services" with some mandrakes. The LORD finally opens Rachel's womb and she bears Joseph in her old age and dies while giving birth to Benjamin. Final score: Leah 8, Rachel 4, Jacob 4 (wives).
And yet, out of this brokenness came the 12 tribes of Israel (aka Jacob). Even in the complications, God moderates the situation to be fair to both Leah and Rachel. Jacob only wanted Rachel, one wife, but he received two. And take it from him, one is more than enough for anyone.
Just as Israel cannot serve two masters, he cannot serve two wives. The tension between sisters Rachel and Leah is sibling rivalry to the extreme as they both compete for the love and attention of Jacob.
But even though the situation is complicated, the LORD provides for Leah when Jacob ignores her. She bears him 4 sons in a row (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah) and Rachel is jealous. Rachel gives Jacob another wife, her servant Bilhah, and gains two sons (Dan and Naphtali) in response to Leah's four. Leah in turn retaliates with her own maidservant Zilpah, given her as a wife and gaining two more sons (Gad and Asher) and then has two more sons herself (Issachar and Zebulun) and a daughter (Dinah) after hiring Jacob's "services" with some mandrakes. The LORD finally opens Rachel's womb and she bears Joseph in her old age and dies while giving birth to Benjamin. Final score: Leah 8, Rachel 4, Jacob 4 (wives).
And yet, out of this brokenness came the 12 tribes of Israel (aka Jacob). Even in the complications, God moderates the situation to be fair to both Leah and Rachel. Jacob only wanted Rachel, one wife, but he received two. And take it from him, one is more than enough for anyone.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Genesis 11:6-7
"The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
It seems God had made us too well. He made us too perfectly so that when we worked together (like at the tower of Babel) nothing was impossible for us. Imagine what man would be capable of if we were not so limited by cultural barriers?
However, collective omnipotence (defined as the ability to do anything you set out to do) is not something that fallen man can handle. God has formed us and set us a little below God himself, made in his image. Whereas God is bound by his very nature (Good, loving, just, righteous, etc.), we have proven ourselves not bound to it. Some of us serve one master, the Serpent, and those who are redeemed serve the Risen Lord.
Indeed, we were banished from the garden for the same reason: that we might not become more powerful and more like God by eating from the tree of life. If we became gods, we would not need God or worship God, which indeed is the entire point of our creation. So God is using the very thing he used to drive us apart so that together we might rely on God to do the impossible and change this world for good.
It seems God had made us too well. He made us too perfectly so that when we worked together (like at the tower of Babel) nothing was impossible for us. Imagine what man would be capable of if we were not so limited by cultural barriers?
However, collective omnipotence (defined as the ability to do anything you set out to do) is not something that fallen man can handle. God has formed us and set us a little below God himself, made in his image. Whereas God is bound by his very nature (Good, loving, just, righteous, etc.), we have proven ourselves not bound to it. Some of us serve one master, the Serpent, and those who are redeemed serve the Risen Lord.
Indeed, we were banished from the garden for the same reason: that we might not become more powerful and more like God by eating from the tree of life. If we became gods, we would not need God or worship God, which indeed is the entire point of our creation. So God is using the very thing he used to drive us apart so that together we might rely on God to do the impossible and change this world for good.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Genesis 2:3
"And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."
The Hebrew word qadosh is used so many times in the Scriptures to describe something that is holy, that is set apart for God's purpose. Do you know what the first thing is to ever be called holy by God? It occurs here in the verse above. It's not a person or an object, it's time.
God who stands outside of time has set up time in such a way as to make it holy, in a cycle of work and rest. However, nothing was left untouched by sin's reach, and soon this holy arrangement was broken. Most people, when asked what they would do with an extra day of the week, said they'd use it to get ahead on work. The pace of the work week is stressful and our bodies bear the brunt of it because we aren't designed that way. I don't need to tell you how bad stress is for your health.
But how do you use your time? Do you carve out a day devoted to God? Can you set apart a day as holy for God? We can be good at taking days of self-indulgence and just slapping the word "Sabbath" on it after the fact. That's not what I'm talking about. A day meant to be with God, set apart for Him for your own good.
The Hebrew word qadosh is used so many times in the Scriptures to describe something that is holy, that is set apart for God's purpose. Do you know what the first thing is to ever be called holy by God? It occurs here in the verse above. It's not a person or an object, it's time.
God who stands outside of time has set up time in such a way as to make it holy, in a cycle of work and rest. However, nothing was left untouched by sin's reach, and soon this holy arrangement was broken. Most people, when asked what they would do with an extra day of the week, said they'd use it to get ahead on work. The pace of the work week is stressful and our bodies bear the brunt of it because we aren't designed that way. I don't need to tell you how bad stress is for your health.
But how do you use your time? Do you carve out a day devoted to God? Can you set apart a day as holy for God? We can be good at taking days of self-indulgence and just slapping the word "Sabbath" on it after the fact. That's not what I'm talking about. A day meant to be with God, set apart for Him for your own good.
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