Daily Devotional, Genesis Chapter 31, 32, Matthew 1
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Today I start something a bit different. I am doing the daily devotion on 2 chapters in the Old Testament and 1 in the New Testament.
The Genesis passage is another interesting passage. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is at
the end of Chapter 32 but more about that later.
It is fascinating that Jacob would put up with as much as he did from his
father in law. He has now worked for his father in law Leban for almost 20
years, despite the deceit, lies, and being taken advantage of. He does it out
of an attitude of commitment and love for his wife Rachel, and subsequently
Rachel's sister who he has also married Leah.
There comes a time in all of our lives that enough is enough and we must
take action to take care of ourselves. There is a popular misconception in many
church circles that we as individuals in the scheme and order of things are
last despite such teachings that state otherwise such as we are to love our
neighbors as ourselves which implies that we are to love ourselves. There are
those Jacob is committed to, his wife, children and his family, so after a
period of time, Jacob does what is best for Jacob.
In the journey for independence and to go back to his family, Jacob practices a sort of deceit. He sneaks off from the lands he is in takes his herds and his family and slaves to head back home without telling his father in law Leban. I can kind of understand why, especially after some 20 years of labor for this man and the way he was treated.
On the journey Rachel steals some things from her father unbeknownst to Jacob and he makes a pledge
that he will take action against the thief. Rachel becomes deceitful and hides
the fact that she is the thief and ultimately Leban and Jacob make a peace
agreement. In a strange sort of way, despite the harsh differences and
feelings, they still make peace. How much can we learn from that?
In their agreement we also see a situation at the end of chapter 32 where Jacob essentially ends up having a wrestling match with God through the night. Now I admit, this is a hard concept to grasp; he wrestles with God all night and the passage says he wins. I don't get it; how can he defeat God? I think there are some interpretations here that likely mean more than what we read on the surface but in the long run, Jacob has his name changed to Israel and he has an injury that has him limping for the rest of his life. There are consequences for wrestling with God, I think especially so when done in a spiritual sense.
Are we wrestling with God in any way? Do we want things our way? Are we willing to do what is necessary to show those that we love that we love them and will do the best for them? On those points, Jacob passed the test.
Matthew 1
Today I start including a chapter from the New Testament, and will start with Matthew 1.
Matthew starts with Jesus genealogy. This is an area easy for many to skip over, but interestingly, we see that the first ones mentioned are those we have been studying, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Here we see that Mary, the mother of Jesus, conceives a child by the Holy Spirit. Prior to the conception she was engaged to be married to Joseph, a good man. This was a carnal sin in these times, especially since she had not had relations with any man and Joseph was to be the only man she was to have relations with. Yet, Joseph tries to find a way out of the situation so Mary don't suffer the consequences. It is then that an angel appears to Joseph telling him of the situation and of the birth of the Christ child that is to come,
There are a lot of ways to look at this passage, one, our past means something. Our families and the families before our immediate families mean something. They are all a part of making us who we are.
There is something else, that is the need to be in contact and open to the
direction of God. Joseph is a man often neglected and not thought about but he
was willing to listen to and obey God, to the point that even in a difficult
situation, he obeys.
Joseph loved Mary and was willing to place the leading from God above his own needs. There will be times in our lives that difficult decisions have to be made, and in those situations, like Joseph, we need to seek direction from God, and listen to that direction.
We don't have a lot of information about Joseph in the Bible but I have to tell you, what we do have only makes me wish we had more. May we all learn from the lesson of seeking wisdom and direction from God, even in the tough times.
To see Genesis Chapter 31 and 32 along with Matthew 1 Click the following link:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+31%2C+32%2C+Matthew+1&version=CEV
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