Genesis 31 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence A number of years have passed with Jacob living in the land of Haran and now he has four wives, eleven children and a large slew of livestock, all at Laban’s expense. And no matter how much and how often Laban tried to cheat Jacob, somehow Jacob bested him. Ten times Laban changed Jacob’s wages to cheat him and ten times Jacob thrived in the midst of those unfavorable…

Genesis 33 Pastor Mark Hudson Jacob finally meet his brother face to face after 20 years. Jacob knew Esau would not have forgotten what Jacob did to him. The last time they were together, Jacob had heard that Esau was going to kill him. Jacob knew that time heals some things but sometime, especially between family members, time heals nothing at all. Back 20 years ago, recorded in chapter 27, Esau cried out to his…

Genesis 32 by Pastor David Groendyk Jacob has something of a penchant for making enemies. He’s put Laban behind him, but now he must face his brother Esau whom he wronged so greatly many years before. Understandably, he is afraid. Plus, Esau’s terse response and large number of men have to be quite concerning. So Jacob devises a plan both to neutralize the threat (by sending Esau some presents) and to minimize the damage (by…

Genesis 30 Pastor Mark Hudson Rachel speaks for the first time and while her eyes are pretty, her speech is not.  She is the second person who wanted something or would die (Esau in 25:32).  It does not appear she is quiet nor subtle.  Jacob’s response comes from one who feels attacked.  He points Rachel to God by saying, “Am I in the place of God?”  I doubt he spoke in a calm, measured voice. …

Genesis 28 Pastor Mark Hudson Rebekah is portrayed a bundle of energy.  When we first meet her in Gen 24, she is busy in 18ff. She has been working overtime to secure Jacob’s position as the possessor of the birthright.  So, in 27:46, she arranges (more correctly ‘manipulates’) for her husband to send Jacob, her favorite, away so he could have a chance at living.  He leaves for the place of her birth to Laban. …

Genesis 26 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence This is the only chapter dedicated to the patriarch Isaac, but sadly, it doesn’t really provide us much new information. Instead, it feels more like a twice-told tale since almost the exact same thing happened to his father Abraham in his journey to Gerar, with both men referring to their wives as their sisters to save their own skin and both being caught in a lie. In fact, some…

 Genesis 25 Pastor Mark Hudson The first 18 verses are an interesting summation of of Abraham’s last days.  We also discover that Ishmael and Esau are no longer the center of of  Moses’ narrative.  Esaus receives attention in Jacob’s life but only in a minor role.  We read in chapter 36 that Esau is blessed by God but not in terms of the promise through him or his descendants.  In 25:19ff , we read of…

Genesis 23 Pastor Mark Hudson Genesis 23 is just a great story.  There is also a spiritual significance that Abraham buries his wife in the promised land before the land was in his possession.  We begin with the death of 127 year-old Sarah.  After a period of mourning, Abraham wants to buy a place to bury Sarah.  He claims he is a poor man (so please offer a low price) with no standing and makes…

Genesis 22 by Pastor David Groendyk In one of the greatest tests of a person’s faith in history, Abraham is called by God to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. It would be hard enough for any parent to fathom this sort of command coming from God and losing their only child, but keep in mind that Isaac was unique. He was the child of promise. He was the fruition of 25 years of…

Genesis 21 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence When the promised son is finally born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, there is laughter all around. In vv.3-4 we see that Abraham responds in faith and obedience to the Lord’s will naming his son Isaac, which means laughter. In some ways this was meant to humble both Abraham and Sarah because they both laughed in doubt at the news that they would become parents. So,…

Genesis 20 Pastor Mark Hudson Abraham is now dealing with the nations surrounding the promised land.  The first foreign leader Abraham interacts with is the Philistine Abimelech.  As the story unfolds, the author almost makes us side with Abimelech, king of Gerar, against Abraham.  The story unfolds rather quickly.  We are not told until later in the story what happened to the king and his people or why Abraham lied. First, God kept Abmilech from…

Genesis 19 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence There were hundreds of ancient Canaanite cities in existence in the days of Abraham, but none of their names are as familiar to us today as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which are mentioned numerous times both in the Old and the New Testaments as a warning of God’s certain judgment against sin. But what exactly was the sin of the Sodomites? There are many liberal scholars today…

Genesis 18 Pastor Mark Hudson Genesis 18 shows “a careful balancing of two central theological postions with respect to the divince presence and power”  (Sailhammer, EBC, vol 2. p. 143).  The content of the chapter regards to birth of Isaac (Gen. 21) and the destruction of Sodom (19).  How God goes about the completion of these two events is telling. In the first two verses, Moses writes “And the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by…

Genesis 17 by Pastor David Groendyk In Genesis 17, we have the covenant with Abraham, part III. God has revealed different aspects of his covenant to Abraham in chapter 12, chapter 15, and now chapter 17. But before getting into the specifics of this chapter, pay attention again to the timeline of events. In chapter 12, Abraham was 75 years old when he was promised offspring; in chapter 16, he was 85 years old when…

Genesis 16 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Ten years have passed since the Lord made the promise to Abram that he would be the father of many nations but Sarai still has not been able to bring even one child to term. Abram is now 85 years old and his wife is 75, which was a little late in life, even back then, to bear children. Interestingly, Sarai acknowledges that it is the Lord himself who…

Genesis 15 Pastor Mark Hudson Moses is presented as a prophet in Genesis 15. “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision” which is the phrase the Bible uses when a prophet hears from God. Abram is viewed as a prophet here because soon, in verses 12ff, God is speaking to Abram about the furture. So, Abram’s prophetic credentials must be defended. Up to this point, God has been speaking to Abram…

Genesis 14 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Thus far in the patriarchal narrative we’ve seen that Abram is a humble shepherd who dwells in tents and moves from place-to-place building altars unto God. For the most part he keeps to himself and minds his own business. But when his nephew Lot is suddenly taken captive by foreign enemies, Abraham is drawn into an international war. A coalition of four kings from the north, in the modern-day…

Genesis 13  Pastor Mark Hudson Reading Gen 13, you can see the themes that struggle and separation (vs. 9, 11, 14).  Then we find the second statement of promise (vv. 14-17). “Just as the first statement of the “promise” was preceded by Abraham’s separation from among the nations (10:32) and his father’s household (12:1), so the second statement of the “promise” is put in the context of Abraham’s separation from his closest kin, Lot (13:14)). …

Genesis 12 by Pastor David Groendyk Chapter 12 is a major turning point in Genesis. The story of Abraham dominates the next 14 chapters of the book as the unfolding story of God saving his people begins to focus in on one single family out of the entire human race now scattered over the whole world. Genesis 12 quite naturally breaks down into two sections. Verses 1–9 tell us of God’s call to Abram and…

Genesis 10 Pastor Mark Hudson In Genesis 10, we read another genealogy.  This is fashioned as somewhat of a second creation.  Since everything was destroyed by the flood, God is, from the living beings on the ark, populating the earth.  We saw how in chapter 9:1ff, the phrases echo the account of creation in Gen. 1 and 2.  That theme continues in chapter 10.  But there is a narrowing of the focus from animal, birds,…

Genesis 9 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Noah’s drunkenness may come as a shock to many of us after hearing the Bible’s description of his life thus far. Moses told us back in Genesis 6:9 that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time; he walked with God and did everything that the Lord commanded him to do. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Noah was a man of faith who…