If the song “Macho Man” had been written in the days of Genesis, I’m pretty certain that Jacob would not have been playing it on his iPod. In fact, it seems like Jacob took the woosy way out every time he got a chance. He stole his brother’s blessing, and then he fled out of fear. When he met Rachel for the first time, he broke down in tears ... [Continue Reading]
Favoritism and stupidity (Genesis 25-26)
I think one of the most despicable acts that parents can commit is to play favorites with their children. In one of the first families we see favoritism by the parents (Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob), and the result was one brother pitted against the other. In a moment of physical weakness, Esau traded what was very precious to him (his birthright) for a ... [Continue Reading]
Arranged marriage (Genesis 22-24)
It would be most natural for me to comment on the Abraham/Isaac situation that comes about in this portion of reading, so I'd like to instead look at one partial sentence 24:67, "she became his wife and he loved her." I think our culture defines love a lot differently than Isaac defined love. In our culture love is built on attraction, and in ... [Continue Reading]
The first acid rain (Genesis 19-21)
I have a question for discussion that I was thinking about as I read the part where God rains down sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. Do you think it's possible to live in a place like Sodom and Gomorrah and not be affected by it? My answer is no, but I'm curious to hear what others have to say. I think about Jesus' prayer that his followers would be ... [Continue Reading]
What is your perspective? (Genesis 12-15)
Sometimes I think we make God out to be very small. When life gets challenging, we inadequately fill in the gaps with ourselves rather than relying on our Heavenly Father to step up to the plate. That's the trap Abram fell into when he when he told Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister and not his wife. The situation was beyond Abram's control, and ... [Continue Reading]
Thank goodness we don ‘ t have polygamy anymore (Genesis 16-18)
I'm not quite sure what Abram was thinking when he slept with Sarai's maidservant, but it's pretty obvious here that he made a bad judgment. I once had someone ask me why it is that God allowed things like polygamy back in the early days that are not allowed now. My response is that God allows things that are outside of His will, and because those ... [Continue Reading]
God says ” Shut up! ” (Job 38-39)
Have you ever had one of those moments when your realize that you've said just a little too much? I feel like I had a lot of those when I was a kid (I'm sure my parents could verify that). In the process of arguing, I liked to have the final word, and that final word was usually the one that pushed just a little too far. Apparently Job finally ... [Continue Reading]
The characteristics of God (Job 35-37)
Sometimes I think it's good to think about the characteristics of God. In fact, AW Tozer has a great book called The Attributes of God where he describes some of the things that Job's friend Elihu mentions concerning God in 37:23: His power, justice, and righteousness. The characteristics of power and righteousness aren't as difficult for me to wrap my mind around as ... [Continue Reading]
Wisdom? (Job 32-34)
In this story of Job there is a one friend who has yet to speak: Elihu. His reasons for holding off his "wisdom" previously related to his lack of age, but Elihu decides that ultimately wisdom can be known by any person. Though he claims to have good intentions, I have found in my own life that there are people who desire to "give me a word ... [Continue Reading]
The ultimate treasure hunt (Job 24-28)
As a kid I loved pirates. We grew up with a donut place called "Jolly Pirate Donuts," and my favorite part about their donuts was the cardboard treasure chest that they came in. My brothers and I found pleasure in hiding the treasure chest in the yard and searching for it. There's something strangely romantic about buried treasure, and it still fascinates me. In many ... [Continue Reading]
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