1. April 2012 by admin.

Genesis 27 - This is a story many of us know already from Sunday School.  If you are not familiar with it then please read Chapter 27 of Genesis.  But I am not going to give a lot of detail on the story itself, just on the lessons we should learn from Rebekah’s part in it.  If you don’t know the story of the birth of Jacob and Esau, read that in Genesis 25:23.  God had told Rebekah that the “older shall serve the younger.”  Later in that same chapter is the story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew.  Chapter 26 tells us that Esau had married women of the land of Canaan which we are told in Genesis 26:35, “they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.”

Now we get to our story of the tricking to get Jacob the blessing as well.  Isaac loved Esau, and even though he knew God had told Rebekah that Esau would serve Jacob, he desired to bless Esau. Rebekah overhears Isaac’s request and plans to have Jacob receive the blessing instead.  Jacob knew what he was doing was wrong, but Rebekah encourages him by stating that if he is cursed it will be on her. Jacob obeys his mother and she is successful in her task and Isaac gives the blessing to Jacob. But because of the bitterness that Esau now has against his brother, Jacob will be forced to flee for his life and Rebekah will loose her son in the end.

Looking at the actions of Rebekah we might think, was she not doing what God had already predicted would happen?  So what is wrong if there was a little deceit in the actions, it accomplished God’s will in the end.  In other words, the end justified the means.  But is that how we are to read this story?  I believe that we need to see that Rebekah in her human weakness tried to make God’s will happen in her own timing.  Instead of trusting in the promise she had from God, she steps in and has her son deceive his father.  Now, God is sovereign and  He was in control of all things, but He never forces us to sin to accomplish His goals. If Rebekah had been patient who knows how God would have brought about His ultimate will in this matter, but that will never be known, because she did not wait upon the Lord and instead took matters into her own hands and ended up loosing Jacob.

The thought I want to leave you will is - do you truly wait upon the Lord?  When you know He has promised something do you wait to see how He will bring it to pass, or do you feel like you need to “do something” about it?  Am I saying to “let go and let God” as the saying in the ’70s was? No, but I am saying that if you feel like what you have to do to make something happen is sinful, then DO NOT DO IT! No matter how noble and godly the goal may be.  Wait, if it is God’s will He will bring it to pass in His own time, without sin being a part of it.

So often I feel like I need to be doing something about situations, when God may just be saying, wait on Me to do it for you.  Patience has never been my strong suit, but I have learned that greater good comes from waiting on the Lord, than me pushing the issue.  I still have much to learn, but I pray that each day I will seek to be about God’s business and let He handle the details of my life.

God bless you all till the next time.

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5. February 2012 by admin.

I do apologize for taking so long to go to my next lady.  I will once again try to be more consistent in the future.  I do have a housekeeping request to make to many of the new registered readers.  If you could be sure and put a name for your user name this will help me differentiate between true new registered users, and those that aren’t.  Thanks for taking the time to do that.  I will be deleting those that have unusual names that don’t appear to be real.  Sorry about that, but I do want to reach readers who are not just trying to sell something.

Now on to our next woman, Rebekah.  Her story is found beginning in Genesis 24.  I will write twice about her, because I believe there are two separate lessons we can learn from her and I do want to keep each posting to one main message.  Yes, I know I could have done much more with Sarah and even Hagar, but my goal in this endeavor is not to retell lessons we get often from these ladies, but to look for other lessons that might not be so obvious.

Just a quick overview of Rebekah’s story; she was the sister of Laban and the daughter of Bethuel who was Abraham’s nephew, the son of Abraham’s brother, Nahor. Abraham was concerned that Isaac not marry a daughter of the Canaanites, so he sent a trusted servant to Ur to find a wife for Isaac among his relatives there.  The servant was under an oath that could only be broken if the girl or her family refused to come with him.  He arrives in the city and is by the well outside the city when the women of the city would be drawing water for their evening meal.  He prays that God will guide him to the one for Isaac by setting a condition that she will draw water for him and for his camels as well.  Which Rebekah does, and he asks to come stay at her house, which she agrees to, but before he dines, he tells Laban, her brother, and Bethuel, her father, why he has come.  He tells his story and they agree to let Rebekah go and wed Isaac.  Bear in mind the only thing she knows about Isaac is that God has prospered his father and he will inherit it all.  They did not have photos to show, or phones to call and talk to each other on.  Her knowledge and impression of him was entirely third hand from this servant.  It is possible Bethuel may have remembered his uncle and the kind of man he was which might explain why he was so willing to believe this servant and trust his daughter to him.  Or more likely the wealth that the servant had already shown in the gold and gifts he had convinced them this was a real opportunity for her.

When the deal has been struck, Laban and his mother want to keep Rebekah for ten days before letting her go, and the servant prevails upon them not to delay his return.  When asked what she wishes, Rebekah agrees to go with the servant.  Now comes the lesson I want to look at, especially for young ladies who might read this.  Do you have a faith and trust in God to go without question when He calls?  Do you make decisions for yourself or do you trust the men in your life to help you in those decisions?

We don’t really know much about the religion of Bethuel and his family.  He does agree to grant the servant’s request because he says, “The matter comes from the Lord.”  (Gen. 24:50) And when they bless Rebekah and send her on her way they say, “…may your descendants possess the gate of those who hate them,”  the same promise God had given Abraham in Gen. 22:17.  Though neither of these are to imply that they were trusting Jehovah, Abraham’s God. We do know that God had led the servant to this young lady, and when she and her family heard his request, they did not hesitate to agree to send her to Isaac.  So it would seem that they recognized God’s hand in this matter, though it is not clear that they worshiped Him as Abraham did.  But it was enough that this young lady was willing to leave her family behind to travel a great distance to marry a man she had never met.  Sometime we are called upon to make a choice that may seem like this, trusting that God will be with you in the decision you make.  We have the benefit in the case of Rebekah to know that God’s hand was in this and she did made the right choice.  But it was with the blessing of her father and brother, as well as the confirmation from Abraham’s servant of how God had led him to her. Do you trust spiritual advisers, whether a father or other godly male leader, to guide you in making the correct decisions.  Or do you prefer to make your own decisions without such advice.  If God has given you men who seek to be obedient to Him and follow His word, thank God for them, and learn to depend on their advice and recommendations.  Do not be so quick to “follow the world’s advice” and make your own choices.

Today so much is made about women being able to stand alone and be independent of men, but are we being godly when we have that view?  Do we seek godly male leadership to help us make decisions that are important and could affect our lives?  I did not have a godly father to go to for help in my younger days, and many decisions I made on my own I see that God was guiding me despite that lack in my own life.  But when I  came to the realization that God has placed man as a head over woman, and she should seek men for counsel and advice, I have to look back on those earlier days and thank God for protecting me and guiding me even though I had no spiritual head at the time.  I do thank God that He has given me a godly man as a husband, whom I can now place all my trust in that he will guide us in God’s will for our family’s life.  Not unlike Rebekah, I had to seek the solution on my own until God led me to the man I would marry.  Though she had her family’s blessing, she still made the choice to leave in the servant’s timing and not that of her brother and mother.  As a result, she gained a husband who loved her and a life that placed her in the protective embrace of God as well.

Next, I will look at how Rebekah was not perfect, and does try to take things into her own hands, but that is for next week.  I do want to encourage any who have opinions to be sure and leave a comment.  If you don’t agree with my ideas, let’s talk with each other over them.  I had a dear friend who did not agree with me on many matters of interpretation for a long time, but our discussions forced us both to look to the Word of God to be sure that we were standing on His word for our opinions and beliefs and not our own, or just what we were always taught.  I encourage each of you who have taken the time to read this small endeavor on my part, to read and study Genesis 24 yourself and see then if you agree.

God be with you all, and may you grow in the knowledge of His word.

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7. September 2011 by admin.

Genesis 16 and 21:9-21

How many time have we thought we needed to “do something” because it seemed that God was not doing anything?

Imagine yourself in Sarai’s situation, her husband has been promised a great blessing from God, but there you are, no children and you are not getting any younger.  So you do what other wives in your position in that day did, told your husband he could have a child with your handmaid.  This was common practice, and the child would have been raised as Abram’s heir.  But things did not turn out exactly as Sarai thought they would.  Hagar became prideful that she was able to conceive when her mistress could not.  So Sarai takes the issue to her husband, who tells her to “do to her what is good in your sight.” v6.  So Sarai treats her harshly to the point that Hagar runs away.

God then sends an angel to Hagar to bring her comfort and send her back to Sarai and Abram.  At this point, only Abram had been visit by the Lord personally with the promise of descendants.  It is interesting that He showed mercy to Hagar, an Egyptian, and appeared to her, when as yet He had not appeared or spoken to Sarai.  Hagar has learned her lesson and returns and submits herself to Sarai.  We do see in this chapter that she bears a son for Abram, but we are not told any more of Sarai’s treatment of Hagar for 15 years.

In chapter 17 God confirms with Abram and Sarai that she will be the mother of the promise seed, and their names are changed to Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarah.  Though Abraham seeks a blessing for Ishmael (vs.18) God confirms that the covenant will be with Isaac, Sarah’s future son.  When Isaac is born we see further conflict between Sarah and her maid, Hagar.  In Chapter 21 Sarah asks Abraham to send them away (v.10).  We see that Abraham must have felt deeply for Ishmael, because this idea causes him distress (v. 11), but God assures him to listen to his wife and do as she says, but Ishmael will be blessed because he is Abraham’s descendant as well (vs. 12, 13).  When Hagar and Ishmael are driven away, they do face a severe trial, to the point that Hagar thinks they will die, but again God shows His mercy and care for her and her son (v. 19) and they do survive and prosper.

I see many different lessons to be learned from these two women that can be applicable today:

1.  Sarah showed a lack of faith and patience when she stepped in to “solve” her problem.  How often do we do the same thing?  Have we learned to “wait upon the Lord?”  Or do we take matters into our own hands when it appears that He is not acting?  Patience does not come easily for me, I remember as a young Christian in my teens praying for patience.  Now, over 40 years later, I still have moments of weakness and impatience when God calls for me to wait.  Even now, as I have been without work since December, I am learning to seek that peace that passes understanding as I wait for God to show me what He has planned.  But I have been comforted as Hagar was in the wilderness that God is there and He does care and has provided for my family’s needs.

2.  Hagar was a slave in a difficult situation, but she did not show humility and grace.  Instead of being humble before her mistress, she showed pride and had to be sent away.  It may be difficult for us to place ourselves in Hagar’s position today because the idea of letting a husband conceive a child with another woman seems adulterous to us.  But remember God did show mercy on Hagar and her child.  She was told to return to her position as a slave and submit to her mistress so we can but assume that she did this.  Learning that humility before another is another trait we as Christians need to seek.

3.  We do not base our decisions and actions on what is a cultural norm.  Though it was acceptable to have a child and possibly many children in this manner it did not make it right.  Though God did protect Hagar and her child, and even blessed them, this was not His perfect will for Abraham and Sarah.  History shows that Ishmael’s descendents  would become enemies of the covenant people of God, and even today those descendents are at odds with the church of Jesus Christ.

4.  When we seek to solve issues outside of the Word of God, we end up making a mess that can cause future consequences for us and others.  The Bible is the source of God’s will and we need to be seeking to immerse ourselves in His Word to know that will thoroughly.  Do you spend time studying the Word of God, or do you just do a quick read and then go about your day?  We must spend time in the word, studying and meditating upon it to be led in the Truth of God’s will.

May you learn to wait upon the Lord in all that you do, may He give you patience and humility to see His mercy and care for you, and may you spend time meditating upon the word of God that you might know His will for your life as well.

God go with you this week and may His spirit rest upon you in all your endeavors.

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27. August 2011 by admin.

In Genesis 11:29-31 we are given a brief look at Sarai before Abram, her husband, is chosen by God for His special blessing.  The only things these verses reveal are that she and Abram are married, she is barren and they go with Terah, Abram’s father, out of Ur and intending to go to Canaan.  It is not said why they settle in Haran, before actually entering Canaan, but that is where they settled for a time.

After Terah dies, in Gen. 12:1-3 we have the first covenant promise God makes with Abram -
“Now the Lord said to Abram,Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Abram obeyed God and took his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, and went to the land of Canaan.  The family lived a nomadic existence for  some time until a famine forced them to go to Egypt.  It is interesting that Egypt appears later in the life of the patriarchs as a haven from famine for Joseph’s brothers, and even as a haven for Joseph and Mary and their baby, Jesus.

To protect himself, Abram asks Sarai not to reveal that she is actually his wife, but rather his sister, in fact she was his half-sister.  In the commentary by Keil and Delitzsch we are told,  “But his (Abram’s) precaution did not spring from faith, He might possibly hope, that by means of the plan concerted, he should escape the danger of being put to death on account of his wife, if any one should wish to take her; but how he expected to save the honour and retain possession of his wife, we cannot understand, though we must assume, that he thought he should be able to protect and keep her as his sister more easily, than if he acknowledged her as his wife.” (p. 127)

It is this obedience to her husband I want to look at now.  Technically, he was not asking her to lie, just not tell the whole truth.  It was fear of the consequences that if a stronger man desired Sarai, who was still very beautiful even at 65 (ch 17:17 tells us she was 10 years younger than Abram and ch 12:4 tells us that Abram was 75 at the time they left Haran), all they had to do was kill Abram to have her.  Sarai does as he asks and the worse that Abram feared occurs, she is praised to Pharaoh and he takes her into his house.

Now put yourself in Sarai’s place, here she has basically been added to Pharaoh’s harem to be treated eventually as his bride it is assumed.  Abram even benefits from the transaction because the Pharaoh treats him well and gives him gifts.  But God was not pleased with the arrangement and sent a plague that led to the truth being told about Sarai’s relationship with Abram.  Pharaoh returns her and sends Abram and his people on their way back to Canaan.  Think of the trust Sarai had in her husband to willingly do what he asked.  We know that Abram has been promised by God that God would protect him and bless him, so it might be that Sarai was also trusting in Abram’s God to protect her as well?  It is not told, but the matter is clear, she obeyed her husband and did what he asked without question or fear.

Do we have that same faith to be obedient to our husbands? Or do we question their decisions and  argue our side of the matter to get our way?  Does this mean we never express our opinion, I don’t think so because as we see there are other occasions when Sarai does make her opinion known.  But as I Peter 3:6 points out “Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by fear.(Emphasis mine)”  As wives our obedience to God includes our submission to our husband.  We need to strive to follow the example Sarah gave of trusting our husbands to make the correct decisions, even if it might appear to us to be a wrong one.  After all, if God was going to bless those who blessed Abram, and curse those who cursed him, would he not have protected him from Pharaoh?

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12. August 2011 by admin.

As I start looking at Sarah, I would like to preface this with a bit of back ground.  Sarah is one of the women that has a fairly prominent place in Scripture.  She is the mother of the promised seed of the covenant between God and Abraham, but she is also very much a woman as well.  She is used as an example of a submissive wife who obeys her husband, but she also has the same weaknesses many women have today.  As I think on her, I realize how strong she was, following her husband to an unknown land, obeying him even when it put her in danger, however she also in weakness tried to bring about God’s promise in her own strength.

As wives and mothers we can learn a lot from Sarah about what it means to submit to our husbands.  But more importantly as Christian women we can learn what it means to trust God to be faithful despite the circumstances.  Sarah had a promise that she would bear the covenant line through which the blessings of God would come to the entire world (Gen. 12:2, 3), she had been shown the might of God and His protection over her (Gen. 12:10-20) and yet despite these assurances, she looked at the circumstances and gave in to her “fear” and encouraged Abram to sleep with her maid in order to have a child through her (Gen. 16:2).  We will look at each of these in more depth, but I wanted to place them as an introduction and an encouragement to us all, when we know what God has promised, we need to trust Him to fill that promise in His own time.  This is a hard lesson to learn, and requires great patience and strength on our part that no matter what happens God does not fail.

I will end with this encouragement, pray daily that God will guide you in His Word and that His Spirit will give you the strength to be looking to Him and not to ourselves for answers.

The primary passages that deal with Sarah’s history are found in Genesis, beginning with 11:29 when we find her marrying Abram (she is called Sarai at this time) and continuing to Genesis 23:2 with her death and burial.  There are also New Testament references to her we will look at as well: Galatians 4:22-31 and I Peter 3:6.

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