Family Battles

Reading 12: Genesis 37

Joseph's brothers are not nice people. I don't know if it's disturbing or reassuring that many families in Scripture are seemingly far more dysfunctional than my own....I've never plotted to kill my brother...well, I never went through on anything.............

It's interesting that 2 brothers tried to "save" Joseph from certain doom, but neither was willing to stand up to the rest of them.

Reuben suggested just throwing him in the well, rather than out and out killing him. And he came back to rescue him....but where was he when they decided to sell him??

Then Judah decides it's best not to leave him for dead in the well (not knowing Reuben's plan) so persuades the mob to sell him to the Ishmaelites.

When faced with a group of people who are obviously doing something wrong, do I stand up for what it right? Or do I mask good choices through misled understandings? Do I simply try to persuade the group to make a lesser evil choice?

The Catastrophe Sent By God

Reading 8: Genesis 19

Lot hesitated twice. Twice. And he still ended up in the mountains. He lost a wife, 2 son-in-laws, and who knows how many friends and colleagues.

What a tough moment. Once again, God has become so fed up with a portion of His creation that His choice is to do away with it. To utterly destroy it.

I don't find Lot (or his family) to be the most positive of role models. Lot offered his daughters to be violated, his wife clearly disobeyed the angels, Lot's son in laws don't take the threat seriously, Lot argued with the angels (who argues with angels???), and his daughters decided to empregnate themselves through trickery. Interesting bunch, aren't they?

Yet the poinangt part, for me, is the fact that God kept to His promise. He promised Abraham that He would not destroy Lot, that Lot would be spared this catastrophe of raining sulfur. (Unfortunately, Lot created his own personal catastrophe, even as the angels personally escorted his family to safety)

How often do I hesitate to heed God's protecting command? How often to I shamefully beg for a different decision? Really, am I any better than Lot and his family? Sadly, usually not. But the magnificent part is that God is always the same!

Under Water

Reading 5: Genesis 7

"Build an arky, arky!"

The flood waters came and everything was gone. The "slate" was wiped clean, and we started over.

It's interesting that we don't necessarily associate getting rid of something completely as a "mature" way of dealing with a problem. Yet here, God got rid of everything as the best way to deal with the issue that was happening: man's increasing wickedness.

In ministry, we all too often fight tooth and nail to hold onto something that really should be let go. Perhaps there are moments when we need to let it go, wipe the slate clean, and start fresh? That kind of decision is not made lightly (God didn't just jump to the flood, He tried other things see Genesis 6.) It's not an endorsement to cancel whatever it is you're doing that's not working. It's not an excuse to give up on trying to work things out and make amends. But there must come a point when you realize that it's not working, it's time to start over.

Crouching at the door

Reading 4: Genesis 4

Cain and Abel. The first reported sibling rivalry.

We're never told exactly what was wrong with Cain's offering to God. There aren't any "laws" at this point in the story, so the brothers are choosing to give God an offering. We're merely given the description of the two's offerings. Abel: fat portions from the firstborn of his flock, Cain: fruits of the soil. We are just told that God looked with favor on Abel and not on Cain. But, why?

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.

Maybe Cain knew all along what he was supposed to do? Maybe he knew that his offering was not a real "offering" but a mere duty? He gave while his heart harbored sin. And God does not look lightly on hearts harboring sin.

My offering...what kind of attitude is it given with? Do I do so out of duty, because it's "my job", or do I do so because it's the right thing to do?

Other points that caught my attention:

1. Were there people living outside of the garden? Adam & Eve's first recorded sons are Cain and Abel, so why is Cain afraid of people that will kill him when God sends him away??.....

2. Lamech, o Lamech. It's such a odd, random story. Just a few verses, why is it even in there? I once tried to do some back ground on it, and found relatively nothing. It's just odd to me that he would claim the same "protection" that Cain was granted merely for being family. Perhaps Lamech is included to demonstrate the continuance of ruthlessness and aggression within the family?

The Crash

Reading 3: Genesis 3

I was just thinking today that one of Satan's most powerful tools against the children of God is: doubt.

The serpent simply suggested to Eve (which wasn't even her name yet...) that perhaps she misunderstood or misheard God. Doubt. "Does God really want to keep you away from that tree?" Doubt. "Do you think God is just trying to keep something really good away from you?" Doubt.

Perhaps part of the lesson of the mere existence of a tree that was to be untouched is the need we have to trust God's plan. We won't know all the reasons, but we know God.

This is a true lesson in my own life currently. It seems as we begin to embark on a new ministry, a chance to gain more ground for the Kingdom, the enemy begins his attack of doubt. "Is this really what you should be doing?" "What if no one comes?" "What if, what if, what if" Doubt.

Trusting God's guidance contains a lot more possibility than the results of taking things into my own hands.

Man & Woman, Male & Female, He created them.

Reading 2: Genesis 2

It is in the second chapter that we get more details on exactly what happened in regards to the creation of man and woman. We get specifics in the story line.

So, we're brought into the whole of creation and we're the only ones given a task to accomplish. The birds were never sat down (at least it's not recorded) and told what to do. The shrubs didn't get a growth plan and goals and objectives. But man was endowed with a task. God created us in His image, and that included accomplishing something beyond 'surviving'.

So what's our job??

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Our job is to take care of the creation. All of the creation, and encouraging the creation to meet its potential by caring for it.

We're also the only part of creation that received an explict rule. (seemingly arbitrary (specifics about its reason to come, I'm sure))

you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die

Honestly, why the rule? Why even put us near the tree if we can't eat it? .... a question for all time... I mean I know the theological responses, but deep in my heart I can still ask "Why?"

Anyways, I kept coming back to verse 6:

but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground

Just thinking in line with my whole "perceive the stream" topic...it's just like God to keep reminding me that I'm on track. The stream came up whether man was there or not. God's will was accomplished, with or without our help and yet He still decided to create these finicky, problematic, troublesome creatures...and still called them GOOD.

In my own ministry, it's a reminder that God doesn't necessarily need me to get His will accomplished, but He's chosen me to be a part of it. It also forces me to recognize that God's been at work in the various situations around me LOOOOONG before I ever showed up, and well after I move on.

God is the stream, not me.