Daily Devotion, June 14, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 25:19-27.

  From the time they were toddlers, these twin boys were competitive. The one who was born second, Jacob, had a name that certainly fit is personality. He was always seeking after whatever his brother Esau had. The midwives who assisted with their birth told that even when they were born, that second baby was grasping his brother’s heel. Rebekah, their mother, said this rivalry had started even before they were born. She said it felt like they were wrestling inside of her!

  So Jacob developed this reputation very early in his life. And he continued to live into it as he grew. What reputation have you developed during your lifetime? All of us have experiences and situations from our younger days which shaped us. Some we are proud of; others, not so much. Did you continue to live into an early reputation or learn to live differently?

  The good news of Jesus Christ is that if there are life experiences that have tainted your reputation, God can give you the wisdom and power to change and become a whole new person. You can develop a new reputation. You can be known by other traits and characteristics. You can become someone through whom other people can see and meet Jesus Christ for themselves. May we all learn and live into that mission! Personal Worship Option: No matter your reputation now, how would you like for it to change in the next 3-5 years? Pray and ask God to guide you in making that change.

Daily Devotion, June 13, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 32:3-33:11.

  Jacob’s life had come full circle. Because of the way he tricked and deceived his brother and father, he had to leave home. However, the Lord had blessed him and he had done well for himself. He had become a wealthy man. He now had a large family, many servants and large herds of animals. Then God let him know that it was time to go back to his homeland and face his brother. Though he trusted God, he had to wonder if this reunion would go well.

  When he received word that his brother was coming to meet him with four hundred men, his confidence in a good outcome had to be shaken. So he sent lavish gifts ahead, hoping to appease his brother. Then, while all alone on the night the meeting was to take place, he had a wrestling match with God. He emerged with a new name and a limp. I believe that limp helped shape the outcome of the reunion.

  Too often, you and I approach people with whom we have differences thinking we must present some show of power or strength. God forced Jacob to enter this encounter with a limp. It reminds me of another person much later in the Bible story: one who washed the feet of his disciples and died on a cross for us all. Personal Worship Option: The new name given to Jacob was “Israel,” which means “one who wrestles with God.” Is there anything you need to wrestle with God about? Are you willing to leave the match with a limp?

Daily Devotion, June 12, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 31:3-21.

Jacob tells about how Laban has deceived him. In other words, the deceiver has been deceived. Still, God blessed him and he became wealthy. Trust and deception were struggles in Jacob’s life. Jacob had been deceived several times by his father-in-law. Both in his marriages and in his employment, Jacob found Laban to be less than honest. Jacob no longer trusted Laban, so he took his family and left.

Trust involves being trustworthy and being willing to trust another. Earlier in his life, Jacob too had been a deceiver. He had experienced the hurt and separation that violated trust brings into a family. Violated trust can destroy relationships. How much better to build a bond of trust with those closest to us. Even when trust has been violated, there is hope to rebuild that relationship, which Jacob experienced with his brother - which is a story for another day. Personal Worship Option:

Is there a relationship that needs mending? Is there a relationship that needs to be released? Bring it before the LORD and follow his leadership in your decisions.

Daily Devotion, June 11, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 29:13-30.

Today's reading describes an unusual wedding, or rather, weddings. Jacob had arrived at his uncle Laban's house with nothing due to his deception (sin) at his own family’s house. Lacking the ability to pay for a bride, he struck a bargain to work seven years in exchange for the hand of his beloved, Rachel. Jacob did what he had always done, relying on his cleverness to get what he wanted. However, dealing with Laban he met his devious match. On the wedding night, Laban slipped Rachel's sister Leah into the wedding tent. The bride was veiled, it was dark, the groom may have had too much wine, and the trick worked.

 

Why did Laban dupe Jacob? Partially because it was the custom for older sisters to marry first, as he rationalized, but also for convenience (Leah was not attractive and had probably proven difficult to find a groom for) and additional labor (he suggested another seven years rather quickly). To keep Jacob happy, he allowed him to marry Rachel right away, which seemed absurd. The predictable results were mistrust between Jacob and Laban, Jacob and Leah, and Leah and Rachel, as well as an unequal marriage in which one wife was clearly more loved. Leah, despite the probability that she was complicit in her father's scheme, was blessed with many sons, Old ways are hard to change. Yet when Jacob saw a mirror of himself in Laban's words and actions, his self-confidence must have been shaken. It was all part of God's plan. Personal Worship Option: Jesus, we are deeply conscious that we cannot live up to our calling except in your strength and through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Keep us ever alert to your calling for us and help us avoid distractions of the world, which the Devil uses to distract us from our calling. Be patient with us.  AMEN

Daily Devotion, June 10, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 28:10-22.

 

Jacob was on a journey to Haran because his father, Isaac, had instructed Jacob to return to his mother’s family of Bethuel to marry a daughter of Laban. In verse 10, it says, “Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran.” 

Beersheba and Haran are 500 miles apart. Imagine this journey by foot. Imagine this journey without a GPS or even a paper map, mobile phone, restroom stops, fast-food restaurants, hotels, without knowing anyone along the way and with the unknown encounters with wildlife.

 (For perspective, Orlando, FL is 556 miles from Chattanooga. Imagine walking from Chattanooga to Orlando.) 

And imagine this journey out of fear that the brother you had tricked out of his birthright may come after you for revenge. Thus, 58 miles before Jacob got to Haran, Jacob is exhausted both physically and emotionally and he stops to sleep for the night, and uses a stone for a pillow.

But God is faithful. God visits Jacob in a dream. As God gave to Abram, God gives the same covenant and blessing to Jacob and Jacob’s descendents. God promises to be with Jacob wherever he goes.

In The Message Translation, the sentence, “God is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!”, caught my attention. How often in the journeys of life have we not realized that God was with us? When we are going through difficult times, we might sense that God is “500 miles” away, but God is consistent throughout all of the scriptures. God is with us. God is faithful. As God kept covenant with Abraham and Jacob, God keeps covenant with us. Even when we fall away, God is faithful. Personal Worship Option: Wherever you are today, I believe you can say with Jacob, “God is in this place---truly. And I didn’t even know it!” Live in the same assurance as Jacob, “God is with you.”

Daily Devotion, June 9, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 27:1-41.

Sometimes looking back on our life is hard, especially if it’s filled with mistakes. Late in his life, Jacob summed up his past, “My years have been few and difficult.” (Genesis 47:9) There is no doubt one of his biggest mistakes was when he deceived his father and took away the blessing from his twin brother. When his mother shared her deceitful plan, Jacob hesitated for fear of getting caught. Even though his hesitation was out of fear, he was still experiencing a moment of reflection that could have prevented him from sinning against God. God speaks to us in the gaps of time between considering a sin and sinning. Nevertheless, Jacob carried out the plan. He received the blessing, but it came with a price. He never saw his mother again; his brother wanted to kill him; his family was torn with conflict; and he was exiled from his family for many years. Imagine how different his life would have been if he had listened to God in the gap instead of his mother. Twenty years later Jacob and Esau were united. God eventually changed Jacob’s name to Israel because “you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:28) Despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. Personal Worship Option: Whatever mistakes you’ve made in the past, God will forgive them. Ask him today to forgive your past. Commit to listen to his still small voice when you are tempted to sin against him. Thank him for his redeeming.

Daily Devotion, June 8, 2020

Devotion: Read Genesis 25:27-34.

From the moment of birth, Jacob had desired the honor and inheritance that was due the firstborn, but despite his grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau to hold him back, Jacob was born second. As the brothers grew up, they were clearly very different from each other. Esau was his father Isaac’s favorite, loved the outdoors, and became a great hunter. Jacob was his mother Rebekah’s favorite, enjoyed hanging around home with her, and apparently learned to cook a mean kettle of stew! We can only imagine why Esau, coming home hungry from the country, would trade his precious birthright for a bowl of Jacob’s stew. Perhaps he was indeed almost starved, or perhaps he was young and impetuous, not thinking about his future and the value of the birthright (double portion of the inheritance and the role of leader of the family). Or maybe Esau just wasn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier!

What Jacob did was not illegal, but it was wrong. It set the tone for a relationship of bitterness and mistrust between Jacob and his twin brother. God’s covenant would eventually pass, not through Esau, but through Jacob and his descendants. God would have selected the right brother for that without Jacob’s grasping for the birthright. Personal Worship Option: Reflect today on your desire for things, position, or power. Ambition can be a good thing when it motivates us to work hard and achieve good things. But out of control, ambition can also cause us to do things that hurt or take away from others. Pray for the balance God desires for us.