Verse for the Day, 30 April 2014.

Genesis 35:1-5  God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."  (2)  So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.  (3)  Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone."  (4)  So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.  (5)  And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

The actions of Jacob’s two sons, Simeon and Levi have endangered the whole family, in this chapter we read of how God works so as to preserve and protect Jacob and his family. Jacob is commanded by God to go and settle in Bethel. God’s instructions go further than just telling Jacob to move to a different location, Jacob is also instructed to build an altar and worship God. Jacob’s response is evidence of his growing relationship with God and his spiritual maturity. He rightly discerns that he and his family cannot worship God whilst some of them still cling to their idols and others of them have blood-stained hands. Jacob appears to understand that God is a holy God, and therefore those who approach Him to worship Him must also seek to come with clean hearts and hands. There is then a need for the whole family to deal with and repent of their sin, and to remove the idols from amongst them. Jacob instructs his family to do exactly this and takes the necessary steps of physically taking the idols away and burying them.

As Jacob and his family leave, it becomes clear that the people of the surrounding cities had been planning to come after Jacob’s family, but God in His grace intervenes causing His terror to come upon them. The people having seen this would have realised that God’s hand was upon Jacob, to go and fight against Jacob, would be to go and fight against God. Jacob states to his family that God has faithfully answered him on the day of his distress, rescuing him and faithfully watching over him through all the years. Whilst Jacob was aware of the many ways God had done this, there had been other occasions when God had done this but it remained hidden from Jacob’s sight and knowledge. This passage is one such occasion.

There is much to encourage and challenge us in this passage as believers in Jesus Christ. The encouragement is two-fold, firstly just as Jacob desired to draw near to God and worship Him, Jacob could only draw so near, he could cleanse himself as best he knew how, but he could not truly cleanse himself. We have great reason to be encouraged by the fact that Christ has enabled us to draw near to God; to be able to come right to His throne, Christ is the one who has brought us near to God. Christ is able to bring us to God because He has cleansed us and consecrated us through His work on the cross. Secondly, because Christ has brought us near to God and caused us to become the children and people of God, we will know the same protection and faithfulness that Jacob knew. There are times when this protection and faithfulness of God is evident to us, but most of the time it is unseen and unknown to us. God as the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 121 is a God who never slumbers nor sleeps, but keeps a constant watch over His people.

The challenge for us is also two-fold. Firstly, we are to continue to place our trust in God and develop a constant thankfulness for His daily protection and faithfulness. The second challenge is for us to understand the importance of the constant pursuit of holiness. If we desire to draw near to God and live lives that honour and glorify Him we must walk in holiness, avoiding the mistakes of Jacob and his family. We must understand that deceit, falsehood, anger, hate and idolatry are destructive and damaging to our relationship with God. We cannot indulge in them and then think that in the next breath we can draw near to God in worship and praise. God is gracious and forgiving and thus if we do fall into this sin, we can come in humility and repentance, but it is vital that we seek to put our hearts right before God, prior to worshipping Him. We are to give ourselves and our lives to the worship of God, which means that we are to give ourselves to the pursuit of holiness, of Christlikeness.

Holy and Faithful Father, we thank You for Your constant faithfulness towards us and protection of us. We pray that You would help us to be more mindful and thankful for it, especially when it is so often unseen and unknown to us. We thank You most of all that we know Your faithfulness and protection because of Christ, who has consecrated us and brought us near to You. Help us by Your Spirit to be people who always seek to be near to You, walking closely in the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 28 April 2014.

Genesis 34:1-7  Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.  (2)  And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.  (3)  And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.  (4)  So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this girl for my wife."  (5)  Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.  (6)  And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.  (7)  The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done.

There is a right way and a wrong way to deal with injustice and sin. Dinah suffers at the hands of a sinful man who was unable to exercise self-control and restraint, which led him to seize and rape Dinah. Jacob is greatly angered, infuriated by this and rightly so. Such actions and behaviour is never acceptable, it must be exposed, the offender dealt with and the victim cared for. As has already been mentioned, there is a right way and a wrong way of doing this. We see this difference in the manner in which Jacob responds and the manner in which his sons, especially Simeon and Levi, react. We are told that whilst Jacob was angered he held his peace for a time, until his sons returned from the fields. We can only assume that Jacob waits for his sons to return, so that they might comfort and care for their sister, and Jacob would then speak with his sons as to how they should react and respond to the situation.

Jacob’s sons do not hold their peace, they react immediately and sinfully. They deceive the men of the town, make false promises and then murder the men and plundered their village. The sinful actions of others against us, is never an excuse for us to react in a sinful manner. Jacob’s grief and anger is multiplied, not only has his daughter been shamelessly and severely humiliated, but now his sons have blood stained hands having murdered numerous men. Simeon and Levi, unlike Jacob, are not aware of the fragile and potentially dangerous situation they have now put their entire family in. They are foreigners in the land, and if news of this should travel to the local inhabitants, they make seek revenge for the blood of their countrymen and come after Jacob and his entire family. The rash over-reaction of Simeon and Levi has endangered their entire family. They may have avenged their sister, but now they are the ones with blood stained and guilty hands.

We have a very acute sense of justice, and it is heightened when someone is grossly harmed and humiliated. Our desire for justice and the grief we experience when there is injustice is good and right, it is evidence of the fact that we are created in the image of God, for goodness and justice come from God. Unfortunately in our strong desire to see justice served we often react in an ungodly and sinful manner, instead of exercising restraint and seeking the wisdom and help of God. This lack of restraint and sinful reaction only serves to compound the problem and leaves us just as guilty of sin as the original offender. Christ is our great example in this regard, for whilst a great evil and injustice was committed against him, he exercised restraint and entrusted himself and his cause to God the Father. He trusted in the justice of the Father and the means, manner and time in which God the Father would administer that justice. This does not mean that we simply allow ourselves to be walked over. Should someone harm us, we are to call for justice and to trust those who have been put into positions of authority by God, to administer justice in the right and fitting manner. During this process, we also entrust ourselves to God, not hungering after revenge, or responding in a rash and sinful manner. Should justice not be served in the right manner and the offender escape unpunished or is lightly punished, again we entrust that to God and do not resort to a Peter-like, vigilante justice, taking matters into our own hands. We are to trust God and to leave it to God to exercise His justice in His time.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are the Just Judge. You are a God who is the very definition of justice, truth and goodness, You uphold justice and come to the aid of those who are oppressed and suffer injustice. We thank You that no one will be able to escape Your justice, for all men must stand before You and give an account. We pray that You would help us to respond in a Christ-like and God-honouring manner when we are sinned against, or treated unjustly. Keep us from rash and sinful reactions and retaliation. Father, help us to trust those in authority and most of all to trust You, to trust Your justice and the timing of that justice. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 25 April 2014.

Genesis 33:1-11  And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants.  (2)  And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.  (3)  He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.  (4)  But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

 

The moment that Jacob feared finally comes to pass. He looks and sees Esau approaching him with some four hundred men, how his heart must have been in turmoil and great fear. Jacob must now come face to face with his brother, the one from whom he stole the blessing from. Jacob seeks to make his respect and honour for his brother known by bowing repeatedly as they approach each other. I don’t believe that Jacob expected the response that he received from Esau. It is a beautiful picture, two estranged brothers who parted in anger are now reconciled. Esau runs, embraces and kisses his brother, both of them weeping. They both rejoice in each others prosperity, the manner in which God has blessed them both and even extend kindness, consideration and love towards each other.

 

This event in Jacob’s life must have served as a powerful and memorable lesson. God had promised many things to Jacob, and now God has brought them to fulfilment. Jacob is in the Promised Land with a large family, great wealth, and God had protected and preserved his life for Jacob and Esau are now reconciled. God had been with Jacob from the day he left Canaan, until he returned to Canaan. The promises, blessings and covenant proved to be true and God proved to be faithful, sovereign and powerful. What a day of joy this must have been!

 

This passage of Scripture also serves to point us to Christ and the grace we shall receive when we seek to reconciled to God through Him. Like Jacob, we too can come to God in humility, seeking after God’s forgiveness and desiring to see Him honoured and we shall find God’s favour. These verses remind us of the parable of the Prodigal son in Luke 15. The father runs to embrace his wayward, sinful, estranged son, forgiveness is given, there is a reconciliation and restoration. It is a wonderful picture of the Gospel, for in the Gospel it is not two men, two brothers that are reconciled, it is greater, for it is the reconciliation of God and man, which brings us into fellowship with God, into brotherhood with Christ and the fear of God’s judgement against our sin becomes the joy of receiving God’s favour and adoption.

 

Heavenly Father, we rejoice today in the fact that You are a God who loves peace, who desires to see men extending grace, love and forgiveness to one another, not holding on the past hurts, but seeking to be reconciled to each other. We thank You that You have set the example in this regard, for You have established a reconciliation for us, that there might be peace and fellowship between God and man. We worship You for the grace, love, forgiveness and salvation that You have extend to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. May You receive all of our praise and adoration today for You are our faithful, loving, gracious, promise-keeping, peace-making God and Saviour. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 24 April 2014.

Genesis 32:24-31  And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.  (25)  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.  (26)  Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."  (27)  And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."  (28)  Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."  (29)  Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.  (30)  So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."  (31)  The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Over the past twenty years, Jacob has undergone a transformation of character. These verses show the final steps in that transformation and the end result is that Jacob is left completely reliant, dependent upon God.

Jacob at this point has surrendered just about everything; he has sent his flocks ahead of him to Esau and his family away from him. Jacob fears that Esau will destroy everything, flocks and family, and then finally come for Jacob. However, Jacob still has one thing left, his physical strength; he can still flee from Esau, or fight for his life. From what we have read in these verses, Jacob was no weakling, despite the long arduous journey, the emotional distress of sending his family away; he still has the strength to wrestle all through the night.

As day breaks, the one with whom Jacob is wrestling, despite having struggled with Jacob the whole night, with a simple touch immediately renders Jacob weak, powerless. Jacob cannot firmly stand in order to fight on, nor can he run and flee from his opponent. Jacob is now completely at the mercy of this man. It is at this point that Jacob must have realised this was more than just a man whom he is wrestling with, and thus he asks for a blessing. A blessing is given and Jacob’s name is changed, although he has formerly been a deceiver, striving against many, God has now transformed Jacob’s character and thus Jacob is given a new name. This new name speaks not just of Jacob’s transformation, but more importantly of the covenant promise that God has made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob and his descendants will be God’s people, God’s royal and holy nation.

Jacob, now Israel is left alone and he rightly discerns that this man was none other than God, he rejoices in the mercy that God has extended towards him. Israel continues on his journey to Canaan and to Esau, but he goes not in strength, but in weakness, he cannot flee from Esau, he cannot fight against Esau. He must now completely depend upon God for everything, for the return of his family, his flocks and to sustain his life. God has made a covenant promise to Israel, but it is not one that he will be able to achieve in his own strength, he will have to rely upon God.

For us as Christians it is an easy thing for us to say that we trust and depend upon God, but the reality is that we trust and depend on ourselves far too often. We rely upon our own strength, wisdom and abilities, we depend upon them and seem only ever to seek God out in times of trouble and trial. It is a painful lesson when our weaknesses are exposed and we fail, sadly it is a lesson that we keep having to learn.

To depend upon God does not mean that we have to deny the physical strength, natural abilities and measure of wisdom that we have. These are God-given, they are good, but they are to be directed towards God and are to lead us to God all the more. We are to keep in mind the reality that God is all-powerful, our strength is limited and fleeting, God is able to do all things, our abilities are but few, and God is all-wise, and our wisdom by contrast is as foolishness. Thus while we may have strength, ability and wisdom, all these should lead us to depend upon God all the more and cause us to rely upon the One is all-powerful, capable of all things and all wise.

All-powerful, all-wise, God of the impossible, we thank You that You are the One upon whom we can depend for all things. Your are the supplier of our strength and from You all wisdom flows. Help us to depend upon ourselves less and depend upon You more. May we draw our strength and wisdom from You, and keep us from the folly of self-reliance. Amen

Verse for the Day, 16 April 2014.

Genesis 32:9-10  And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,'  (10)  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

Last week, we noted how Jacob’s character had been transformed by God over the past twenty years. Hardships and trials are the means that God often uses to shape, mould and transform our character, and Jacob had, had no shortage of these during his time with Laban. Before Jacob arrived in Haran, God had made several promises to Jacob, promises which must have sounded nigh impossible at the time. Now Jacob has witnessed the faithfulness of God as God has brought these promises to fulfilment. Jacob’s gratitude and humility are evident in his prayer as he prepares to meet Esau. He acknowledges his unworthiness, his sinfulness and the fact that he is in no way deserving of God’s love or faithfulness. Secondly, he acknowledges that his prosperity has not come from his own hand but from God’s hand. God has prospered him; God has caused him to become two camps, two families, with large flocks of livestock and great wealth. Thirdly, he commits his future and the future of his family into God’s hand. Jacob greatly feared coming face to face with Esau, and he knew there was only one to whom he could entrust himself, his life and his family to and that was God.

There is much we can learn from these two verses. We need to cultivate the same attitude of humility and thankfulness towards God. God is the one who prospers and keeps us, supplying our every need. God is the one who is so faithfully at work in our lives performing His will, and God is constantly at work in our lives shaping, moulding and refining our character to make us more and more like Christ. Like Jacob, we need to respond to all of God’s past faithfulness and work in our lives, by committing our future to Him and entrusting ourselves into His divine and sovereign will for our lives. Our desire to do this should be all the greater as we approach the Easter weekend. It is at this time of year that we remember Christ and his work for us. Christ is the ultimate fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is the promised son, the promised descendant, through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. It is through Jesus Christ that we have now become the people of God, received the promised salvation of God and eternal life. We have even greater reasons than Jacob to live in humility and thankfulness before God, trusting Him for the future, especially when we keep in mind that our ultimate future is being held and kept by God, and we are be held and kept by God for it.

Gracious Lord we pray that You would open our eyes so that we might see the extent of Your faithfulness towards us and the many ways in which You care, protect and provide for us. Thank You most of all for the great provision of Christ, who has dealt with our sin and brought us into a relationship with You. We worship You for we know that this salvation through Christ is not a vain and empty hope, but one that is held and kept by You. Help us now to live in humility before You, in dependence upon You and entrust ourselves and our future into Your wise and good hands. Amen.

Verse for the Day, 11 April 2014.

Genesis 31:1-3  Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth."  (2)  And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favour as before.  (3)  Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."

Jacob has had twenty years of hard labour, during which he has been deceived and mistreated repeatedly by Laban. In the midst of this adversity Jacob has seen God at work, sustaining, protecting and prospering him. Jacob has learnt that God is a God of providence and Jacob’s character through all this has been transformed. Jacob has sought to be honest in all his dealing with Laban, even bearing Laban’s losses himself, he has not sought to cheat or deceive Laban. Jacob is seeking now after the path of integrity and humility, the truth of which we shall see in the coming chapters.

His years of hardship and service to Laban have now come to an end, the Lord instructs Jacob to return to Canaan. There must have been a mixture of emotions within Jacob as he received this instruction. He would have had great joy at being able to go back to his homeland, seeing his own family again and to be reunited with his father and mother. The joy of testifying of God’s protection of him and to show them how God had prospered him with a large family and great wealth. But then there was the fear of having to come face to face with Esau. Esau’s hatred of him, anger towards him and murderous intentions, had they abated, or would it all be rekindled when they came face to face? What would he say to Esau, how could he appease the anger of his brother? Furthermore the fear that Laban would pursue after Jacob and destroy Jacob, taking everything, family and flocks from Jacob, leaving him with nothing once again. This fear in part is realised when Laban does pursue Jacob, but even through this God shows His hand of sovereign control and protection upon Jacob and his family, commanding Laban not to harm him.

Jacob knew that a long and dangerous journey lay ahead of him, one in which he may be pursued by Laban, met with joy by his parents, but then come face to face with the wrath of his brother. Was he leaving the mistreatment of Laban only to walk into the angry hands of his brother? Whatever happens, Jacob knew that he had to obey the instruction of God and trust God, that God would be true to His words, “I will be with you.” He had to believe that God would lead and guide his family and undertake for him should Laban pursue him, or his brother come against him. Jacob had great reason to trust God, for God had proved Himself trustworthy thus far, therefore Jacob in faith takes up his family, flocks and sets out towards Canaan.

For us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a God who is trustworthy. We also have a God who calls on us to trust Him with the future, and at times that future will be a dark and difficult one, one that we fear. Yet those same words that God spoke to Jacob, God speaks to us, “I will be with you.” We may have great fears, but we have a God that is greater than all those fears and we have His promise that through all the fears, joys, trials and happiness God will be with us, His sovereign, providential hand carrying us. We are called to trust Him and steadfastly walk in obedience of Him.

Omniscient Father we are comforted today by the knowledge that You know and hold the future in Your hands. We thank You that because of the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that we have in Him, we can know the truth in our own lives of the words You spoke to Jacob, “I will be with you.” We pray that we would not only be comforted by the knowledge and truth of this, but that You would also enable us to trust you with the unknown and with that which we fear the future may hold, knowing that You shall not fail or disappoint us. Amen.