Nehemiah: What Breaks Your Heart?

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday.  I did not have an internet connection.  So I will post today instead.

 

Nehemiah 1 - The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.  Then I said:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.  We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king.

 

Nehemiah was among the Jewish exiles that served the King of Persia.  The King had allowed the exiles to return to the Holy Land and even rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.  Nehemiah had heard about all these events but he had also heard reports about the crumbled and blackened walls of Jerusalem that lay in shambles.  When he heard this, it broke his heart.  What he does next is so important.

He takes his broken heart to God in prayer.  He fasted.  He sought guidance.  And while it is not explicit in the text, a vision begins to develop in his heart.  He comes to realize that he can do something about the situation that has broken his heart.  And he knows he will need divine help.  He continues in prayer by confessing the sins of his people and asking for God to help him win the favor of the King he now serves as cupbearer.

What about what’s going on in the world around you at night breaks your heart?  As we’ll see over the next few days of devotionals, Nehemiah decides to do something about his broken heart.  The Bible is full for stories of people who didn’t just mourn the tragedies of their day.  They believed that with God’s help, they could do something.  We are invited to believe that as well.

So I ask you again;  what breaks your heart?

 

Prayer:  God, let us not be calloused to the suffering of the world for you have called us to be part of your response to it.  Show each of us the things you have called us to do, Amen,

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for the situations that break your heart today.

 

Song:  Matthew West – Do Something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_RjndG0IX8

A Heroic Prostitute

Joshua 2 - Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.)  So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.  We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.  When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

“Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”

“Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”

So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.  She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”

Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house.  If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them.  But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”

So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them.  Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”

 

Today we celebrate another great lady in the story of God – Rahab.  Rahab is yet another non-Jew who is celebrated in the Jewish scriptures/Old Testament.  Rahab’s actions are quite surprising in that she actually gives aid to the “enemy” of her people.  I have to ask myself, “what would cause someone to do that.  I don’t have to wonder because Rahab gives her reasons. 

First, she states that she “knows” that the God of the Hebrews has given them the land of her people.  Don’t miss this detail.  Rahab has her own Gods.  But her observation is that, “…the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”  She has seen that her “gods” are no Gods at all, but the God of the Hebrews is God of all.  She abandons her polytheistic faith to acknowledge that Lord is God alone.  I can’t overstate what a gigantic leap of faith this is.  She has invested her entire existence up until this point in a very specific tribal and religious identity but leaves them behind because she sees that her investment was misplaced.  It is rare when we find someone willing to make such a dramatic shift.

The other concern that Rahab has is for her family, so she negotiates for their safety.  She knows this is necessary because she knows that backed the Lord God, the Hebrews will be successful in winning the battle of Jericho.  Get this: Rahab, a prostitute among the people of Jericho is more confident in the victory of the Lord God’s people than the Lord God’s people.  Because she is so confident that God will give the victory, she intercedes with the spies to secure the safety of her family. 

Giving up false beliefs is difficult.  Admitting that we’ve “backed the wrong horse” is a hard pill to swallow.  Helping people that we have seen as the enemy in the past takes real humility even if we know deep in our hearts that the Lord is with them.  But Rahab’s story reminds us that being wrong about God and even about “our own people” has implications for the safety of our very families.  I am thankful for the “Rahab’s” of history that have realized that what God was doing was running counter to the causes they had invested their lives up until that point and did the brave things necessary to change course to be on the Lord’s side.    They have inspired me to admit when I have been falsely influenced by the people around me and swallow my pride and get on the Lord’s side myself.   My prayer is that Rahab’s story will do the same for you.

Prayer:  God point out my incorrect biases that I might give up the ways in which my life is running counter to what You are doing. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for the rising number of people being diagnosed with COVID right now.

 

Song:  Warning!  If you do not like Hard Rock Music, you might want to skip listening to this song.  However, I’ve included the lyrics below:

Social Distortion:  I Was Wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXAU4MmMIMo

Lyrics:  When I was young, I was so full of fear

I hid behind anger, held back the tears

It was me against the world, I was sure that I'd win

The world fought back, punished me for my sins

I felt so alone, so insecure, I blamed you instead and made sure I was heard

And they tried to warn me of my evil ways

But I couldn't hear what they had to say

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

It was me against the world, I was sure that I'd win

The world fought back, punished me for my sins

And they tried to warn me of my evil ways

But I couldn't hear what they had to say

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

I grew up fast, I grew up hard

something was wrong from the very start

I was fighting everybody, I was fighting everything

but the only one that I hurt was me

I got society's blood running down my face

Somebody help me get outta this place

How could someone's bad luck last so long

until I realized that I was wrong

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

I was wrong, self destruction's got me again

I was wrong, I realized now that I was wrong

And I think about my loves, well I've had a few

I'm sorry that I hurt them, did I hurt you too

I took what I wanted, put my heart on the shelf

How can ya love me when you don't love yourself

Shiphrah & Puah

Exodus 1:6-21 - Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.  But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous.  And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

 

Shiphrah and Puah took their lives into their own hands when they defied Pharaoh by not killing the baby boys when they were born. In the text above, the contention is that they did this “because they feared God.”  While this in undoubtably true, it also shows that they saw their defiance as standing for something bigger than themselves. They believed in the value of their own life, but they placed equal value in the life of those babies. For that reason, they (nor Pharaoh) had the right to spare their own life by taking others. They also could never stand against their own people, the Hebrews, just to preserve their own safety.

Shiphrah and Puah were not political or tribal leaders; they were midwives. But their brave defiance saves their own people.  No matter your station or position in life, God gives us opportunities to act out of our values and convictions to make a difference.  These two women did not say, “we are only midwives-no need to go against the grain.” They embraced their position and did what they could do. May we also see what is wrong and act with justice to make it right.

 

Prayer: God help us to see the difference we can make from our position in life. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus: Pray for college students today.

 

Song: Aaron Tippin - You've Got To Stand For Something (Official Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_s-Qk07KxA

Better Than a Soap Opera

Genesis 38:6-26 - Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.

Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”  But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.

“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.

He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.

Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”

As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”

Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.

 

We circle back to an odd and sordid story found in the middle of the Joseph story about Tamar. Just the fact that her story is included in the Bible is significant.  She is a woman in an extremely patriarchal time period and thus would normally be regarded as irrelevant. More than that, she is a gentile which is a second strike against her being included in the sacred story of God’s chosen people. Furthermore, did I mention that this story is a sorted kind of tale? So why is Tamar’s story told?

Tamar is Judah’s daughter-in-law. Her husband dies, so according to custom, the brother of the deceased is obliged to marry her and conceive a child to continue the deceased family line. The second brother dies as well. Judah is spooked. He begins to believe the Tamar is somehow cursed and he fears for the life of his third son, who is now obliged to marry her. Judah decides to break this promise/obligation and withhold his third son.

Tamar devises a plan to fulfill her own sense of purpose to provide an heir for her first husband. She tricks Judah into sleeping with her by disguising herself as a prostitute. As “collateral” for her services until Judah can bring her a goat as payment, Tamar asks for Judah’s seal, cord, and staff. She is not interested in getting paid; she is not a prostitute. She is interested in proving to others with whom she conceived her child.

When Judah finds out Tamar is pregnant, he is about to have her killed when she produces the proof of the Father. Judah realizes he has been outsmarted by the woman with whom he intended to break a promise. She “forced” him to keep his promise. What a messy story!

This is the kind of family story that one would not be told at family gatherings. At best, it might be whispered about in the corner. So why in the world would it be included in sacred writings, published for the world to see. And why on earth would Tamar be mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1?

I believe this story is told as a reminder of at least a couple of things. First, a promise is sacred and should be kept if at all possible, especially a promise made within a family. This is true whether keeping the promise is convenient or not.

Second, Tamar is an example of someone who refuses to accept being cast aside by a patriarch just because he thinks he can easily get away with it. She uses what power she has to confront the injustice. I believe the writers of scripture are acknowledging that just as Judah does at the end of the story. These same writers hold her up as a heroine of sorts – a heroine that deserves to be one of the few women and few gentiles mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.

 

Prayer: God help me to see people the way you do. Call me out when my judgmental attitudes surface. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus: Pray for God to show you one place where you have been wrong about someone. Yes, I know; that’s a dangerous prayer. Pray it anyway.

 

Song: Brandon Heath – I’m Not Who I Was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ZgtCRO-KY

One of the Best Stories in the Bible About Forgiveness & Reconciliation

Genesis 42-47 (If you have the time, it is worth the read!)

 

Today we fast forward to the end of the Joseph story where he is reconciled to his brothers and reunited with his Father. This is one of the most beautiful stories of forgiveness and reconciliation in the Bible. I say forgiveness and reconciliation because they are not the same. As we have talked about before, you can forgive someone without restoring a relationship with them. It is clear in these chapters for today that Joseph was still working on both.

Forgiveness comes first. In chapter 42, we see the hurt and anger that Joseph has harbored all his life come out when he sees his brothers approaching him to buy grain. It is not until he overhears his brothers regretting their actions against him that his heart seems to begin to change. Over the course of the next few chapters, Joseph lets go of his resentment and forgives. That would be significant on its own.

But then he begins to check out whether his brothers are ready to reconcile. He puts them through a series of “tests” to see if they are willing to be honest with him. You can forgive someone even without their cooperation, but reconciliation requires the honest effort of all parties. Joseph sees that his brothers are now being honest with him and so he eventually reveals who he is, letting go of his last bit of resistance to reconciliation. This leads to Joseph being reconciled to his Father, something that never happens if he is not willing to reconcile.

This story of forgiveness and reconciliation is messy. Most stories of forgiveness and reconciliation are. It is some of the hardest spiritual and emotional work we will ever do. But if we don’t do it the work, some outcomes that we long for will never happen. I strongly recommend the journey.

 

Prayer: Lord help us get free from our resentments and deep-seated anger. Help us to see the joy that could be ours if we submit to the journey with your help. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus: Pray for forgiveness and healing for our divided nation.

 

Song: Toby Mac – Forgiveness (ft. Lecrae)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkhqpl81NA

Flourishing in Any Circumstance

Genesis 39 - When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.  Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.  This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.  From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.  So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,  and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.

But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.  One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work.  She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.

When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.  When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”

She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said.  “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”

Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her.  So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.  But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

 

This was a longer reading, so I’ll keep this short.  Joseph’s story is one of the most inspiring to me in the Old Testament.  Joseph is one of the supreme examples for me that, because of the Lord’s presence with us, we can flourish in any circumstances.  Joseph is sold into slavery by his own brothers.  He is put in prison for nothing other than the treachery of another.  No matter what happens, he just keeps doing whatever good he can do.  He earns the respect of those around him.  They trust him with more and more.  If you were to read further (Genesis 40-41), you would learn (spoiler alert) that Joseph actually becomes ruler of Egypt because he just keeps flourishing wherever he finds himself. 

Don’t miss this.  Joseph makes the choice to flourish in whatever circumstances (slave, prisoner, or ruler of Egypt).  He chooses to flourish and God helps him do just that.  I aspire to live that way.  I honestly feel we all should.

One more thing – a leader can lead no matter his or her position.  Joseph show this beautifully.  His slave master, prison warden, and even Pharaoh eventually follow him because of his giftedness as a leader.  You don’t need position or title to lead.

 

Prayer:  God, we so often throw pity parties because of our circumstances.  Help us to see that no matter what, you give us what we need to flourish where we are.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Spend some time praying for your immediate and extended family members today, especially those you haven’t prayer for in a while.

 

Song:   Go Go Joseph - 1999 Film | Joseph

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBd-91a_KQE

The Cancer of Jealousy

Genesis 37:18-36 - When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.  Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.  Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed.  So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief. Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”

Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”

Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!”  Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.  His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.

Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.

 

Today, we transition from Jacob to Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son by his favorite wife.  Jacob’s tale is a sorted one, involving spirals of deception, toxic jealousy, one-upmanship and treachery.  Feel free to read it is Genesis 29-37.  It is better than any soap opera you’ve ever seen.  The author wants us to see though, that God is still at work in the extremely messy life of Jacob.  It’s what God does.  That’s one thing we can remember today in the midst of our own little soap opera – God hasn’t abandoned us.

Like in so many other families, the favorite son is often the target of the other siblings’ resentment.  In the case of Joseph, the resentment, fueled by jealousy, is thick.  It’s toxic enough that all but one want to kill him, but they know it has to be an “accident.”  Let’s pause right here.

Imagine being murderously jealous of someone in your everyday life.  How does that happen?  The reality is that jealousy like that has to be nurtured.  It may begin with an unjust favoritism, but in order for it to reach homicidal proportions, one must feed it regularly – replaying the injustice over and over to the point that every episode is seen through the filter of jealousy.  In the circle of Joseph’s brothers, this jealousy spread.  At this point, the jealousy begins to be fueled by each other.  Over the course of seventeen years, it becomes so consuming, outright murder begins to look like a legit option. 

Friends, such is the pathology of the cancer of jealousy.  Though God was able to actually use Joseph being sold into slavery to eventually to save the entire family, the truth is God would prefer the jealousy be abandoned.  Proverbs 14:30 states, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."  Making the conscious choice not to feed and nurture jealousy contributes to a heart of peace.

Is there any jealousy taking up real estate in your heart.  When you think of “that” person, do familiar recordings begin to play.  You have the ability to press stop.  You can ask God to begin to replace it with a heart of peace – peace that flows out of the knowledge and experience that you need not be jealous because God will provide everything you need.  Let go of the comparisons so that you can receive the assurance that you are and will be blessed in ways you can’t see now.

 

Prayer:  Thank you God for you providential love for me.  Help me embrace that love so fully that I no longer have need of jealousy for another.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for peace for those who are being consumed by jealousy and/or anger.

 

Song:  Queen – Jealousy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rSSmgXEKuY

Jacob’s Ladder

Genesis 28:10-19 - Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”  But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.

“Surely the Lord is in this place and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 

 

Every time we are not aware of the Lord’s presence, Jacob’s statement is true of us.  The Lord is present everywhere we are and everywhere that we’re not.  There is nowhere you can go and truthfully say, “the Lord is not here.”  The times when we think that is true, our awareness is absent, not God.

I don’t like to admit that.  I’d much prefer to think that somehow, God decided to leave me alone for a while than concede that I am just not paying attention.  I have to admit it though, because every time refocus my attention, I discover that, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 

Take some time to do that today.  Pay attention to the details of your surroundings and your situation.  Talk to God about them in prayer.  I’m betting that if you can slow down enough to notice the condition of your life, you will find some clues that God is there in the details. 

 

Prayer:  Thank you for your constant and abiding presence, especially we aren’t aware of it. Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for the most vulnerable people in the nationwide heat wave we are experiencing right now.

 

Song:  We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW6z-ftfJeg

Family Feuds

Genesis 25:24-34 - And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins!  The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.  Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.  Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.  Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)

“All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”

“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

 

I have a brother who is three years younger than I am and like many brothers we had our rumbles.  But Jacob and Esau take it to another level.  It is a rivalry that the Lord told their mother would develop and it was probably not helped by the fact that Esau was Isaac’s favorite and Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite.  This feud would last most of their lives.  Even more than that, the two brothers’ feud would metastasize into a feud between two nations.  Many lives would be lost would result from this sibling rivalry. 

This is what unresolved conflict tends to do – spiral out and expand and eventually create casualties.  Many historians trace the current tensions in the middle east all the way back to Isaac and Ishamael, the sons of Abraham.  American historical legends recall the bloody feud between the Hatfields and McCoys.  And too many of our families could recall tales of how a family feud created a lasting toxicity that is passed down from generation to generation.  My family name, McCrea, was spelled differently four generations ago.  Two brothers’ feud got to the point that one of them legally changed the spelling of the last name so as to “disown” his brother. 

You can probably guess where I’m going with this.  It’s not good to let brokenness in our relationships continue to grow.  At the very least, a decision to not continue pouring gasoline on such fires can literally save truckloads of pain and might even save a life.  If it is within you power to de-escalate a conflict or even begin to heal the wounds from the past, we’re called by our reconciling God to work for peace.

Jacob and Esau eventually reach a truce of sorts and I can only imagine how much pain and suffering was avoided because they did (If you want to read about it, the story is in Genesis 33).  Try to imagine what pain and suffering might be avoided if we did the same.

 

Prayer:  God give us hearts predisposed towards making peace with our brothers and sisters.  Amen.

 

Prayer Focus:  Pray for those who lives have turned upside down by family conflict. 

 

Song: Cochren & Co. - One Day (Official Lyric Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So94m-Lp6Pw