Graves' This and That

Exodus 1-3 opens with the introduction of Jacob's family, and with the fact that a Pharaoh is now reigning that does not know of Joseph.  The Hebrews have now been in Egypt for 430 years.  The have become quite numerous and prosperous UNTIL the death of the Pharaoh.  Because of their great number and the fear of being overpowered, the Egyptians make the Hebrews their slaves.  Scripture describes their enslavement as being treated ruthlessly, bitter and hard labor in the fields, in the brick and mortar, yet the Hebrews continued to multiply in spite of great physical abuse.  The next move of the Pharaoh is to command that the boy infants of the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile.   Out of such horror, Moses is born.  Through a series of the hand of Providence, Moses is reared by the sister of the Pharaoh.  He is destined to become the next Pharaoh, but God has a purpose and a plan.  Moses will be a mighty and wise leader, but not of Egypt....

    I do not enjoy having animals because of the training of the animal that needs to be done. I hate being trained by an animal!  Years ago, we had a pony, Dusty, who was "green broken" only and it was a game for him to try to get rid of his rider. Needless to say, he was not a delight for three young boys.  One of my husband's favorite sayings, "I have been house-broken by the Lord."   In my reading of Jacob in chapters 45-47, Jacob is finally coming to the end of Jacob....maybe house-broken?  Of course he is 130 years old and that could account for his submission to the Lord.  Too bad, we waste so many years in "arguing" and "reasoning" with the Lord when we are younger.  Jacob and all his family have been reunited with Joseph and they are all going over to Egypt because of the severe famine.  God speaks to Jacob and once again reaffirms His covenant with Jacob and his progeny. "I am God, the God of your father, He said.  ...

The struggle continues and several other "shoes have dropped"!  Jacob's family has become so unhealthily complicated.  The struggle does not begin with Jacob and his family and it will not end with his family. The psychological term to describe Jacob's family is dysfunctional.  Medically, "dysfunction (Webster) is an abnormal, impaired, or incomplete functioning, as of a body organ or part."  However today, the term is used most often to describe human relationships.   The more I read of Jacob and his family, I surmise that the real struggle is within Jacob.  Even though he has had encounters with God...like us, who have experienced salvation, Jacob struggles with flesh responses from pride, fear, anger, selfishness, and lack of integrity.  He has too often modeled this to his family, and they are infected with the "virus".  Dyfunctional families began with the fall of Adam and Eve, their two sons, and have been very evident in readings of ...

"For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves to sin-because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:6-7)  When I choose to return to the flesh/sin, I am basically giving CPR to the old self that is dead and rendered inoperative and allowing it to have control.   In my reading of the last few days in Genesis 31-34, Jacob, after 20 years is leaving dear ole Uncle Laban and taking his huge family and his herds of animals/his wealth with him. God has told him to leave and return to Bethel.  Along the way with kids of every age, can you just imagine the noise of the kids and the animals and WALKING?  Along the way, Jacob decides to reconcile with Esau and sends gifts on ahead with his servants to give to Esau....and hopefully to save his hide.  His servants return from their trip to Esau and report that Esau is coming to him with 400 men.  An overki...

  In several seasons of my faith-walk, I always want to get beyond the "first year of".  My "first year of" that I focus, more specifically, is the completion of the first year of a love one's Absence.  Today, January 22, at 7:10 pm is the completion of my "first year of"  the Absence of David, eldest son.   In my mind's eye, grief is like a mountain range with numerous valleys. For me, the victory is that by God's grace, I made it through the first year.  Personally, my climbing in and out of valleys, falling down, getting back up, and climbing higher has been the roughest.  Grief is not the easiest climb for me, but I do know that Father God, my Father of compassion and all mercies, has been so gracious to instruct, lead, hold me close, pull me out of the valleys where it can be dark with emotions of loss, and to encourage me to press on when hurt and tears want to be the schedule of the day.   This is not to say that grief is over, but...

Jacob is such an assurance that God does not demand "perfect obedience" to be used of HIM.  In Genesis 27-28, Jacob has been complicit with his "well-meaning" conniving Mother to cheat his brother, Esau, out of his birthright. God had already told Rebekah that she was carrying twins and that the older would serve the younger twin.  I guess, as we helpful Sarahs do, Rebekah plans a rouse to help God along and insure the blessing for Jacob.  Tragically, both Rebekah and Issac are guilty of favoring one son above another.  It never seems to work well!  The providence of God is at work again as HE prevails over all the scheming of Rebekah and Jacob. Tragically, Rebekah sends Jacob away to escape Esau's hatred, his wrath, and his threat to kill Jacob.  In all of Rebekah's conniving, she will not see Jacob again in her life. Esau is in full-blown rebellion and blaming Jacob for his loss of the blessing, yet not willing to see the part he played in the rouse from ...

   Do you remember trying to make a choice when you and a friend each chose a different game to play?  I well recall the phrase so very often  that we said, "eeny-meeny-miny-moe" to make the choice.  Of course, we didn't know the rock, paper, scissors phrase used today among kids.   I thought today again of choices we make and the consequences of them as I wandered through Genesis 25-26 and read of Issac and his marriage to Rebekah, the birth of two sons, Rebekah's conniving, and Esau "despising his birthright."   Exchanging a birthright which was a blessing from a father is a major choice and made so frivolously for a bowl of stew.   I found David Guzik's comment from Donald Barnhouse on Esau's choice : Why did Esau sell out? “History shows that men prefer illusions to realities, choose time rather than eternity, and the pleasures of sin for a season rather than the joys of God forever. Men will read trash rather than the Word of God, and ...

Every year I come to these chapters in Genesis, especially chapter 22, and I have very limited understanding of the event except the over-ride to my lack of understanding is my faith that God is good, He is Sovereign, and He knows how to bring about His purpose in a life.  Every step of Abraham's journey of faith has the evidence of the Providence of God.  As fallible as he is, Abraham is obedient concerning the command to sacrifice Issac.  Instead of the sacrifice of Issac, a ram is provided and verse 22 gives the promise of the fact, "Abraham called that place 'The Lord will Provide'. And to this day it is said, 'On this mountain of the Lord it will be provided."    The promise is again suggested in Philippians 4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."  God has been most faithful to His promise of provision, yet there is a caveat or two that must be understood.  God will provide in HIS timing....

It isn't really about a song, but about an act being repeated.  The act occurs first in Genesis 12 when Abraham decided to plan a rouse that Sarah was his sister and receives a scolding by a pagan pharaoh in Egypt. Now in reading today, in Genesis 20, Abraham is up to his old trick of misrepresenting facts, misspeaking, half-truth, oh rats, call it what it is, LYING!  He is in the country of Philistia and commits to the lie, the half-truth that Sarah is his sister to protect himself.  When asked by the king of Philistia why the reason for the rouse, hear his reply, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife."   Sarah is probably now in her late 70's!  In speaking to himself, he surmises that this is a godless place .  He convinces Sarah that this is how you "can show your love to me" by claiming Sarah to be his wife.  His third reason was to blame God ..."And when God had me wander fro...

I wished I could brag about how well I wait and wait patiently.  To even state it would be, "Liar, Liar, pants on fire!"  I have had to LEARN how to wait, and I am STILL in the LEARNING PROCESS.  Abraham and Sarah have waited for 25 years for the fulfillment of "I will make you a great nation."  Abraham is 99 and Sarah is 89 years of age. Even though Abraham lived until he was 175 years old and Sarah lived 127 years, they are WELL passed middle age of child bearing. Sarah's reproductive clock has given its last tick-tock.  In chapter 16, Sarah takes the matter into her own hands with the statement, " I can build a family through her."  Pride and desperation seem have to seeped in and she chooses Hagar, the maid acquired in Egypt where they were NOT directed to go by God.   Sarah suggests that Hagar can bear a child for her and Abraham, and he agrees to do so.  Today, 2018, the struggle continues between the children of Abraham and Sarah and Abrah...

Thank the Lord that obedience is easier now, most of the time.  I do well remember, as a child, youth, and as an adult, having to decide COST.  Two very important questions that I had to learn to navigate:  What is the cost of this choice?  What will the choice cost me personally ?  Of course, too many times, I figured out the questions after the pain of the choice! After completing Job in my reading, I have been directed to return to Genesis.  I pick up in chapters 12-15 and focus on another flawed individual, used greatly of the Lord, but was still very flawed.  His learning of faith was a process and a progress...just like yours and mine.   Abram was promised a 5 fold blessing by God, and then instructed to leave his country, leave his people, and leave his father's household. Abram was obedient about leaving, however,  he took his nephew, Lot, who turned out to be a major pain and distraction.  Slight disobedience perhaps? Abra...

The ole saying, "Well, shut my mouth!" seems to have been updated with "Shut up!"  I am combining the last four chapters of Job in my reading today.  Shut my mouth are the very words that Job speaks of himself when God does call Job to account for his words and attitudes which are spoken and thought beyond his knowledge and ability to know.  He confesses in chapter 40, "I am unworthy-how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth, I spoke once, but I have no answer, twice, but I will say no more." How like God to not comply to Job's request and demand that HE answer to him...the SOVEREIGN ALMIGHTY meet the demands of the fragile, flawed, and finite even in his great pain?  God speaks to Job, specifically, asking him questions from chapters 38-41.  The commentator of chapter 38  "Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm.  He said...."  Other expressions of storm from the Hebrew, whirlwind, tornado, hurricane are words which are ...

As I continue my reading in the book of Job, three of his friends are finally quiet since they could not convince Job of what they "know" is his problem.  Now along comes another well-meaning friend, who is the youngest of the speakers, but after several chapters, it is evident that he is not able to convince Job that what God has allowed to come to Job is because he has sinned against God. I confess, I do not always understand what God is doing in my life.  However, I am coming to realize that what I know about God is so minor and incomplete this side of Heaven.  Our God is mysterious and His knowledge is inexhaustible!  I can't always explain God, yet I am willing to yield to two truths which are foundational for me as God accomplishes:  HE IS GOOD (Ps. 86:5 and other places, "You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.")  HE LOVES YOU  AND ME!  Calvary and the empty tomb are the evidences of His love.  F...