on eagles' wings

--personal thoughts--

i know you don't need me to tell you what happened in the first 20 chapters of exodus (and won't need me to do the same for chaps 21-40)...because you have been reading and studying this book for yourselves. however, sitting down to complete a blog of overview on this scripture last night and then reading over it was really a helpful and thought-moving experience. just the enormous faithfulness...the treasure of God's faithfulness in and amongst His people shouts out His character. i love Him so much. He is faithful. He was faithful. He moved people (moses, aaron, their mother, jochebed...the pharoah's daughter...jethro and zipporah...) and circumstance and pharoah and water and...and frogs, gnats, flies...He hid the sun for three days...and He moved the red sea into two walls of water!...falling on the israelites' enemies. He made bitter water sweet. He made water come out of a rock. He made flakes of food fall from the sky...and quail...and then, His very presence came into their midst....

let me just...again...type out the words from chapter 19 that are His words...about what He had done. verses 3b and 4 (God was speaking directly to moses): "thus you shall say to the house of jacob and tell the sons of israel: 'you yourselves have seen what I did to the egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.'" (italics mine)....

*so so beautiful.*

i can see the eagle in my imagination. the gracefulness of the rescue...and the safety and security of being brought to Him. i don't in anyway want to mess with the picture in your mind of this...but having watched that scene numerous times at the end of lord of the rings when gandolf came on the eagle to rescue frodo and sam...i can't help but think of it and their ethereal awakening in rivendell. transplanted from the volcanic rock and lava of mordor to the most beautiful, heavenly, safe place...provides an amazing visual of rescue. they had no escape before the eagles came. they felt they knew this was the end...there was no conceivable way for them to have escaped death on their own. and they were rescued...on eagles' wings....

what i need as i read the bible is to understand who God is...and also...who He is in my life. He has rescued me soooo many times. i have seen Him move circumstances...money...people. He has brought answers when i didn't have them. i am soooo thankful this morning for His faithfulness to the israelites. and i am soooo thankful for His faithfulness to me as well...for the way He heard their cry (chap 2:23b-25) and rescued them from 400 years of slavery. and for His interest in my way...oh...and this is true for every one of His children...He is faithful to rescue...and it is always as beautiful as the flight on the wings of eagles.

the first half of exodus/chapters 1-20

--personal thoughts--

as we begin to be attentive to thoughts we have had and things we have pondered as we've been reading exodus, i want to open the blog with the visual that is recorded in 19:4, "you yourselves have seen what I did to the egyptians, and how i bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." *this is so very beautiful.* He rescued them and carried them...as on eagles' wings. amazing....

--old testament understanding--

overview: exodus opens with the explanation of how the israelites came to be in slavery. we see the king of egypt's fear of the people (as they had multiplied and become great) and his motivation to exercise authority over them, force their hard labors, and then ultimately to control their population through the horrific plan to kill the hebrew baby boys. we are introduced to moses through his mother's action to save him and his adoption by the pharoah's daughter. his move to midian in adulthood and marriage to zipporah is recorded in chapter 2. i want to note, at the end of chapter 2, the israelite's cry for help that had risen up to God. scripture says in verses 24 and 25,"God heard...and God remembered His covenant...and God took notice of them." God would use moses; chapter 3 records the Lord's appearance to him in the bush that was burning but not consumed. it records how moses was commissioned to go to egypt...and then, chapter 4 illustrates moses' hesitancy and how aaron was commissioned to go with him. very important to observe in this interaction is moses' fear, God's anger in their discourse because of moses' timidity/cowardice?...His concession to allow aaron to be a spokesman was very evidently in response to moses' fear. we see in chapter 5, an initial blowback of the pharaoh as he was first approached and israel's labor increased. chapter 6 records assurance that God gave to moses...that He was with him and would show up! verse 7: "...you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the egyptians." and verse 8: "...I am the Lord." and we see record of the sons of israel including reference to moses' lineage...his tribe, the levites, and his mother, jochebed. chapters 7-11 record God's great wonders as displayed in response to pharoah's hardened heart and resistance to God's demand that His people be freed. the plagues of egypt illustrated the sovereignty of God and His power. chapter 12 includes details of the passover lamb...the last plague...then, the feast of unleavened bread and following...the exodus. chapter 13 records God's instruction for the people to sanctify their firstborn and His visual leadership of them through the wilderness in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. we see the dividing of the red sea and the pursuit of pharoah's army and their destruction in chapter 14. chapter 15 records the israelites' song to the Lord in thanksgiving of their deliverance. verse 13: "in Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed." we also see in chap 15 God's provision of water. manna is introduced in chapter 16...again, we see God's provision for them...and we see the observance of the sabbath in obedience. water is again provided as recorded in chapter 17. battle with the amalekites was also given reference in this chapter, and the Lord fought for them. chapter 18 records moses' visitation by his father-in-law, jethro, and his acknowledgment of God as Deliverer. jethro confessed, as recorded in verse 11, "now i know that the Lord is greater than all the gods." this is significant. we see that jethro counsels moses concerning his role as judge among the peoples and the delegation of his duties. chapter 19 is beyond-description-amazing, as we read here how God came down to moses and the people on mount sinai. incredible. and finally, chapter 20 records, of course, the law as given to moses through the ten commandments...on stone...His code for their living as His people.

good morning. or afternoon. or evening!

i decided to move today to exodus and come back to finish the historical info/thoughts on the pentateuch and genesis another time/soon! (i will definitely repost my previously to be continued blog in the next few days.) so...i think the best way to cover exodus may be in two or three blogs in overview of this book. thank you, again and again, for going-with-the-flow with me. you are loved! (and i will be back today to write about the first 20 chapters of exodus!)....

thoughts about the pentateuch (continued)

--old testament understanding--

concepts to note about the pentateuch (continued from previous post) including thoughts about culture and civilization during the periods prior to and during the history we are reading about:

• according to my textbook, a sophisticated culture existed in the river valleys of mesopotamia and egypt during the prehistoric period/history having been recorded in the proper sense, according to my text, beginning shortly after 3000 b.c. (in the ancient near east). agriculture was advanced, with drainage systems and irrigation. writing had been developed. there were two large kingdoms in egypt (northern and southern). there existed between egypt and mesopotamia significant cultural interactions/exchange. this period reflects history 1500 years before israel came onto the scene.
• then, in the third millennium (the 2000's b.c.)...the three civilized areas of significance were, again, mesopotamia and egypt...and syria-palestine. sumerians were the peoples of mesopotamia in this time period. they were organized into city-states and culture revolved around their temple. by the time abraham moved to ur of the chaldees, sumerian civilization had faded. then, in egypt during this period, the kingdoms had been united and existed as the old kingdom (from 2900-2200 b.c.)...this is the period known for the construction of the pyramids (interesting to note :) ). then, from 2200-2000 b.c., the first intermediate period defined a time of social chaos and economic ruin, according to my textbook. in syria-palestine, there is evidence of small, fortified cities with inhabitants known as canaanites. late in this period, every canaanite city went through vast destruction.

now...if you're like me, you just read over all of that really quickly and if i asked you to really explain it, you may mention well...it had something to do with the time before abraham and um, mesopotamia?...(sometimes with history facts, i have had this disinterest that i really don't know how to account for...but it's kind of awakening here lately, which is cool. you may be more history-savvy than i...so, i do not mean to make light of it all if that is you. :) ) anyway...i think it's so helpful to know what had happened in the millennium before abraham and just have an idea of the culture he lived in or what had been going on in the world just before he brought his family to ur. it's interesting that there really had been a whole 1000 years of civilization before this period that we read about abraham. back to history...

• during the patriarchal age, around 2000-1500 b.c., mesopotamia, egypt, and syria-palestine are still the main three civilizations to note... and...this will need to be continued again. (i may post this morning and then edit later to keep it all together...)

....................................................................................................................continued thoughts below........

• back to the patriarchal age...2000-1500 b.c....so, we were talking about these three main civilizations of abraham's day. i won't go into too much detail about the comings and goings of each of these centers of culture but will hit the high points. in mesopotamia, babylon became important under hammurabi gaining status as the greatest cultural center of the day. hammurabi wrote a law code that contains parallels to the hebrew law in the pentateuch. following hammurabi's reign, babylon declined. in egypt, the middle kingdom defined a period of about three hundred years. then, the hyksos peoples invaded ushering in the second intermediate period in egypt. there is very little written evidence to document the history of syria-palestine during this time, but we know that the amorite people were culturally significant in this area during this time. we also know that much of the patriarchal narratives took place within palestine.
• we know that abraham journeyed from haran (in mesopotamia) to canaan, and we know that this was during a peaceful and stable time. the roads on which he traveled were open between northwest mesopotamia and canaan. the nomadic lifestyle of the patriarchs fits into the context of common nomadic practices and culture of that day.
• it's important to note that biblical writers had to be selective in what was recorded regarding the history of the people and culture...and of course, this was divinely inspired. my reference text aptly states that their aim was largely theological and that they wrote to recount the interactions of God with His people that inspire faith.
• the theology of the narratives of genesis and the pentateuch is significant as it is defined by the patriarchs...and it is significant to us many, many centuries later. according to my text, "the salvation promised abraham will ultimately embrace all humankind."

and on that note...we will revisit theological concepts presented throughout the books of the law during our study of them. another significant quote from my textbook to conclude today's thoughts... "the beginning of redemptive history offers a word about its end...God has not dismissed the human family in wrath forever, but now acts to mend the breach that sin has placed between him and his world. this promise stands as a key to understanding all of scripture." praise the Lord.

thoughts about the pentateuch

--old testament understanding--

early in january, with our first looks at genesis, we looked at the pentateuch. today, i think it's important to give attention (as we are moving through these five books) to the accounts as they are written with awareness of God's character throughout. His Word is our guide to knowing Him...so with that idea as the motivation for our study, i want to summarize the content of these books of the law.

so, those first 11 chapters of genesis gave a primeval history lesson...the foundation of how we see Elohim, our Creator God (genesis 1:1, revelation 4:11). and throughout the rest of the pentateuch, as we read, we are gaining more insight into His character in the patriarchal history as it unfolds. according to my textbook, there are a few kind of key elements to note: promise, election, deliverance, covenant, law, and land.

so, following His creative acts, our eyes are opened to His character as we read of how He moved in the lives of individuals we come to know in the old testament. according to my old testament survey book, again, the accounts in genesis record the promise (to abraham and his descendants) which is fulfilled through deliverance from egypt, the granting of the covenant, and the giving of the land. it is evident that His election of abraham was on the basis of his faith and...the last of these elements, the law (as we will later see gives soooooo much insight into God's character)...will be a gift to His people (as the Jesus storybook bible communicates...it tells the reader how life works best...).

some concepts to note about the pentateuch:

• evidence suggests strongly that moses authored these books of the law, though possibly not in its final form.
• complexity of the text indicates both legal material and detailed narrative.
• there are some parallels of the creation account and other narratives in genesis with other near eastern/mesopotamian texts indicating a common cultural heritage. an important contrast to note between the genesis record and other ancient accounts is the idea that in mesopotamian culture, many gods were acknowledged as the embodiment of natural forces, but in genesis, monotheism and intimate connection and relationship with the one, true God is foundational.
• we know a lot about the areas of civilization in which abraham lived and traveled because many sites in palestine, syria, and mesopotamia have been excavated, and ancient texts have been discovered. to be continued...

seldom early but never late

--personal thoughts--

my mom used to say, "God is seldom early but never late." *sigh*...of course, this is just a vangie coleson quote...i don't know where she heard it, and it's certainly not "gospel truth"...could be very much just her view of His activity in our lives...but...food for thought. *lol*...no one could ever say this of me. she and my dad also used to say that there are people in this life and some are the waiters and some are the waitees...and i was definitely in that latter category. i'm trying soooo hard to improve in this area of my life as i mature...however i'm not quite there yet...i can tend to run late. (you have found this out less than a month into this study...soooo sorry we are falling behind the daily readings...but, i am hopeful as we enter into this new week to catch things up without sacrificing everything i want to put into this....)

friends, i'm so sorry...has been a part of my last several posts because with the life interruptions and sickness in our home, i have been really concerned about not staying on top of this. but, i have to apologize one more time as we are still in this first month...my intent was to write about the three chapters in my old testament survey book dedicated to pentateuch history and genesis and to give a solid introduction to exodus along with adequate summary and notes about these first 15-18 chapters over the weekend...and i failed to meet my expectation and the expectations that i communicated to you. with that said, i will do my best (as i am feeling much better physically and much more energetic)...to walk us back up to the pace of covering everything in 365 days. :)

with all that said, let's get started. :) i still have an hour this morning bfr the kids wake up. :)

i want to be careful. as i read, i find myself wondering so much. with every passage, multiple times in a chapter...i have these theological questions...or maybe just one underlying question ...under everything...what was God thinking about this? i'm sooooo interested in how He interacts with people in the bible because deep inside me, i desire His closeness. i want to trust Him. but...as i'm typing, my heart is being moved to another question...who do i think i am? to question Almighty God? some of it (my questioning) is truly just because i want to know Him more...but i really think He's examining my motives/my heart this morning and oh...a scripture came to mind that i had to find...it's isaiah 66:2, "thus says the Lord, 'heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. where then is a house you could build for Me? and where is a place that I may rest? for My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,' declares the Lord. 'but to this one i will look. to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.'" (italics mine). in our culture of humanism (exaltation of man/self-sufficiency...), it seems that pride can dictate many of our questions. ugh! this makes me mad at myself for being subject...and part of...a culture of questioning God. (oh...forgive us, God. Jesus, i'm so sorry.) i want to read with faith...deep, consistent, abiding, hopeful TRUST and unshakable understanding of His trustworthy character underlying all of my reading rather than limitless questions. and as i read, i want to be one to whom he looks as in the isaiah 66:2 psg....

so...related to the title and thoughts of the opening paragraph...instead of asking...if God knew the pharoah who knew jacob and his sons would die and that joseph's family...the israelites...His people...would end up in slavery, why did He move them all to goshen/egypt? was He late? was He unfaithful to them? ...it feels so wrong to even type that!....but, another question/let me dare to ask...what about those generations in that 400 yrs of slavery that only knew slavery? what about them?...instead of spending my emotional energy with those kinds of questions...oh, God, let me live and THINK and breathe in a place of TRUST that...You ARE faithful...and i don't have to understand everything....

isaiah 55:8-9, "'for My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'"

i want to be overwhelmed with His faithfulness to deliver them through moses. i want to be patient in the waiting even as i think of how the israelites waited for deliverance. another scripture comes to mind (for when questions do come...) phil. 4:6-7, "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." i want to completely trust Him/resting in the knowledge that He is never late (even though, as my mom thought...it can seem that He is seldom early in reference to our timing. lol )...and read in this context the history that would/will eventually tell of His plan to redeem/save/express His enduring love and faithfulness....

let me conclude today's post with a passage that shouts out His faithfulness!

from psalm 103...note His great faithfulness to the israelites/as we are reading/verses 6-7...

bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. the Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to moses, His acts to the sons of israel. the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. for He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. as for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. when the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer. but the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them. the Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word! bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion; bless the Lord, O my soul!

sooooo beautiful...accidentally typed out the whole chapter...praise the Lord. praise Him for His neverending faithfulness....

sunday night

--personal thoughts--

i am so sorry...i just have to be a little bit random tonight. i know some of you really really well...i just went back and looked over many of the posts since jan 1 and made a list of everyone who had commented that they wanted to study the bible with me and those who just liked or made comments on the posts. some of you are friends of many years, some family members, some very new friends...i hope it's ok to be completely me and a little bit quirky randomly. yesterday, i wrote that i would post again this weekend...soooooo much catching up to do. but, it's going on 1030 on sunday night...yesterday was not very productive and today...very full. so...i am declaring an extended weekend for this blog (to include monday morning)...in honor of my 3yr-old's request for us to buy him a new truck with kitties to drive it. :) lol...please excuse my random but true-to-the-kid-quote silliness...;).

do forgive my stretch to keep my word...my intent is early, early morning writing and much study and blogging throughout the week. (i feel so so much better! back to good health and renewed focus....!!!) thank you...enormously...for sticking with me, friends...though i've been unpredictable. it's going to be a great week :)....

genesis 43-50

--personal thoughts--

well, initially, as i look back at the beginning of chapter 43, the first thought that comes to mind is my grocery shopping pattern. lol... jacob said to his sons in v 2..."go back, buy us a little food." in our culture today...or more specifically in the reid household...this could mean running by the store on the way home and picking up enough for all six of us to eat lunch...for these men and their families it meant enough grain to feed their families/animals...for months. culture and context differences make my brain hurt sometimes when i think of the days of jacob and joseph....

--old testament understanding--

the record of all of this/the interaction of joseph with his brothers (from the time he was sold into slavery until they came to buy grain in egypt/and later to live in goshen), their reconciliation, and God's provision for them/actually takes more narrative space in genesis (with brief narrative side-stories) than the "primeval history" from adam to the tower of babel...please don't misunderstand...not that it was more important...just significant enough for a lot of detail...and for the chapters committed to telling the whole story.

we thought about forgiveness as we studied the reunion of jacob and esau in chapter 33. joseph's story gives another moment for pause as we have read...even in detail...of joseph's great emotion and forgiveness of his brothers. this is a THEME in scripture! we will see it soooo much in the new testament. it is a command...and it is necessary to be forgiven (see matt. 6:14-15).

as we read through chapters 43-45...joseph seemed to be manipulating circumstances...by holding simeon hostage/hiding his cup in benjamin's sack/etc...and maybe stalling?...until he could work up the courage? (i wonder if it was a courage issue or just timing...?) to tell his brothers who he was and find a way to be able to see his father again (of course, this was all in God's plan). the beautiful emotion-filled drama of his confession, "i am your brother joseph"...is illustrative of joseph's heart.

then, chapters 46-50 record the details of jacob's move to egypt and the account of his twelve sons. i definitely want to draw attention to jacob/israel's confession of faith as he blessed joseph in chapter 48, verses 15-16. especially note 15b and 16a, "the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless...." jacob had been renamed israel...and israel...the name of God's people for generations...this faith being characteristic of this blessed man and the peoples named for him... significant.

--personal thoughts--

more concluding thoughts on genesis and much blogging about exodus...to be posted this weekend as well...love to you. i am soooo pensive and heart-moved to be able to read and study God's moving and His heart in the old testament. i am prayerful for you as i take breaks throughout the weekend to pray...asking Him to speak (looking to scripture to hear)....

concluding genesis/beginning exodus

--personal thoughts--

i'm sooooooo sorry about the delay in posting comments with our conclusion of genesis. i am recovering from a stomach flu that was pretty intense...caring for each of the kids as they passed it around, then nursing my own version of it these past couple days. :/ just want you to know that i'm committed to passing along what i am learning and insights the Lord is giving me/just have to be a little flexible with life interruptions.... :)

as i was reading today, i had an enormous...tremendous...revelation that could prove to be an important truth in my life and life plans. God speaks to us through His Word! i find myself thinking He spoke to abraham...He walked with noah.... is He truly intimate with people like that today, and can i be one of those people?!!! and then, i think of how He does speak...through His Word. praise the Lord.....!!!!

i will post again soon (either probly a lengthy post or numerous posts)...with thoughts about joseph and his brothers/early israel/historical info and background as we conclude genesis and begin exodus. thank you sooooo much for your patience with me as this week has not been as consistent as i would like. love to you....

jan 17

--personal thoughts--

will be reading and praying today but wanted to get a note out this morn that the blogging may come later in the week...in bed with the flu my kids have been passing around. praying for all of you! praying that God is speaking to you through His Word, friends....

january 16

--personal thoughts--

i have a lot of thoughts to share from our reading these past couple days but limited time. just wanted to drop in a quick note to say i'm sorry for the brief lapse yesterday/today with blog thoughts. will be catching up this week. love to all...

genesis 38-42

--old testament understanding--

the narrative about judah and tamar in chapter 38 definitely leaves me wondering what God thought about all of that. i just keep going back to the Jesus storybook bible's explanation of the men and women of the bible...so glad God uses imperfect people. we do know that Jesus was born out of the lineage of judah and tamar, from one of the twins born to her (perez)...see matthew 1:3.

on to chapters 39-42...an excerpt of joseph's long story. so...we read in chapter 37 about joseph's jealous brothers and how he was sold into slavery. and in these chapters, we see how his integrity of character caused him success in potiphar's house and then in prison where he ended up unjustly. and then...in dependence upon God's interpretation of the dreams both of the cup-bearer and baker in prison and then of pharoah's dreams, he was moved to a place of honor and influence in egypt. (please note that in chapter 41, verse 16, joseph gave all credit/glory to God for the interpretation of dreams.)

--personal thoughts--

i love the boldness that joseph displayed in pharoah's presence. it seems to me that as he shared the interpretation, he could have simply concluded his explanation at the end of verse 32. however, he continued to speak with discernment about what pharaoh needed to do with this information given him/this prophetic message about the land. joseph was confident in the presence of pharoah, and he was bold.

scott and i were recently able to take the kids to the billy graham library in charlotte. one of the things that i so admire when thinking about this international evangelist was the way he was able to interact with "important" people. he was not intimidated by celebrities in the light of important conversations...he was always about the gospel, of course. and he wasn't afraid to be bold no matter whom he was in conversation with.... i believe this boldness is characteristic of a man of God, consumed with God...so that he wasn't afraid to speak boldly to anyone who may be in a place of high position. this was a characteristic of joseph in pharoah's presence. joseph saw the big picture and was quiet enough in his spirit...and in pharoah's presence to discern and speak up about what pharoah should do...very cool.

plans for this bible study

--on the journey together :)--

just wanted to post some thoughts about this study as we come toward the end of genesis. the main textbook that i am using alongside the bible (old testament survey: the message, form, and background of the old testament, authors LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush...see complete bibliography in second post, resources for study) includes overview information about the pentateuch, some theological overview of the fall of man, and lots and lots of historical background-type info about what was going on in the world around the time of the patriarchs (referring to abraham, isaac, jacob, joseph...). so...i just want to clarify my focus (wanting so much to help and teach/because i know we all are in this to really know and understand His Word...). there are so very many resources...commentaries, study bibles...and so so much that could be studied and looked-into as the bible is read chapter by chapter. so far, i have not consulted a verse-by-verse commentary but a survey book/an overview book of the OT. i guess i just want to be clear about my plans so that i can provide an expectation. daily, i am asking God, please speak to me through Your Word. and then...writing. and as i posted a couple days ago, it has taken on a very devotional nature often. the reason i'm taking just a few minutes to clarify things this morning is because i really want it to be more than that (though i still highly value the life application and what He is teaching my heart. :) ). so...i wanted to let you know that though i am not taking these chapters apart verse-by-verse, i am hoping to provide understanding and overview and the big picture of scripture as it unfolds. following chapter 50 of genesis, i will summarize much of the historical info presented in my text and some significant theological concepts again as we read about God's interaction with His people as we begin to read exodus.

i will post thoughts about chapters 38-40 with tomorrow's chapters. love to all and happy weekend...:)

genesis 35-37

--personal thoughts--

at this moment, i am blown away by how chap 34 leads into chap 35. what devastation...what deep hurt and...there's not another word...devastation...(in chapter 34). i don't really know how God felt about jacob's sons' revenge on hamor and shechem. His response to dinah's rape and her brothers' violence is not recorded in chapter 34. but what i do see is how He spoke again to jacob. i can only imagine how torn and broken jacob must have felt about his children. what is so striking to me is how God came to him and moved him again to call on His name. He called jacob to reliance on Him in times of trial and devastation. He spoke to jacob and reminded him that He is God.

--old testament understanding--

so jacob responded to God by telling his children..."put away the foreign gods which are among you...." v 2.... he called his household also to come away from their idols and serve only God.

and when they did, God met with jacob. at this time, God changed jacob's name to israel and He blessed him, recounting again His promise to make a nation out of his descendants (verses 11-12).

chapter 36 is a record of esau's descendants and then chapter 37 leads into the long narrative about joseph and how the israelites eventually ended up in egypt....

--personal thoughts--

i love God's character. His faithfulness is enduring. even when jacob's sons...those in his household...were serving other gods, He called them back to Himself. He wanted to communicate His blessing again to jacob/israel because of His great love....

genesis 32-34

--old testament understanding--

the passage including verses 9-12 of chapter 32 is significant to our understanding of jacob. he followed after God as did his father, isaac, and grandfather, abraham. he humbled himself before the God of his fathers. he was blessed because he sought God for help in his time of need.

--personal thoughts--

the interaction between jacob and esau is beautiful. i once did something to hurt my sister...unintentionally, but significantly...my words had cut deeply. when i came to understand how i had wounded her, i thought about what i could possibly do to make it right. a handmade paper flower in simplicity reconciled sisters...without words, it communicated my regret for my words and acknowledged my felt sorrow for my actions.... i love how jacob visually and physically acknowledged his wrongful actions toward esau many, many years earlier...with gifts to appease. he wanted desperately to make things right with esau, and i don't think it was just for his safety or the safety of his family in light of esau's supposed wrath. i would like to assume he was hoping for the love of a brother. reading of their reconciliation is beautiful.

i have to share something very personal as we think about the forgiveness of esau. i have had a song running through my head for a few days. a song about forgiveness called 7 x 70 by chris august. we saw chris perform this in concert a few months ago, and he talked about how he had started to write a song about the pain of his childhood and the break-up of his family...and in the quiet of his searching heart, it turned into a song of healing forgiveness. so, it's been so random. i really just love the video they filmed about it and the moving picture of his hurt and pain being washed over with healing because he let himself forgive. i hadn't given it a second thought really because i didn't think i really had any unforgiveness issues in my life. i just loved the beautiful picture and the beauty of the song....until last night. late in the evening....right before i went to bed, it hit me that i absolutely do have an unforgiveness issue. i have been deeply angry with myself about something. the anger was real. and all the negative effects of it. frustration. anxiety...negative emotions can remain dormant but come to the surface in moments of weakness which is what i've been experiencing over a period of many months. (not to any enormous extreme or anything)...just an underlying...things just aren't quite right in me.... i wasn't angry at another person. there has not been unresolved conflict. it's all me...but it's hindered me.

the very cool and amazing and beautiful and wonderful thing is that God revealed this to me, dear friends.... so that i could see it...come face-to-face with it and forgive myself. i'm really out of time this morning and have so much more processing to do with this... maybe there will be another opportunity to come back to it.

anyway...praise the Lord for this pic of forgiveness between brothers...and the picture in our brains of the healing of forgiveness....

oh, here's the song:

http://youtu.be/n5-Q1zAhqpA

you are loved

genesis 30-31

--personal thoughts--

may i start with a prayer?

Father, i have nothing to say this morning of any consequence apart from what You have put in my heart and my mind for these chapters today. please move us to understand the old testament and to see it all the way You see it...(especially these stories of men and women who often attempt to make their own way prosperous). please guide our study.

--old testament understanding--

so these chapters for today's reading present the story of jacob and his uncle laban. they continue from chapter 29 the record of how jacob became the father to twelve sons. within this context, it is apparent how the competition between jacob's wives has resulted in the births of his sons who would later become the twelve tribes of israel. if you missed yesterday's post, please go back to it. :)...the excerpt from the Jesus storybook bible is a helpful guide for putting all of this narrative in perspective. :)

it seems that all throughout history, God is using broken men (and women)...and blessing them...though their actions and the motives of their hearts may often break His. jacob's name would eventually be changed to israel and a nation would come from him...and at the appointed time, Jesus would come through jacob's lineage....

genesis 27-29

--personal thoughts and old testament understanding--

can this post be mostly devotional in nature? just glancing at what's next in the story...the section heading "jacob's deception" aptly describing the narrative in chapter 27...thoughts that come to mind immediately have to do with my understanding of these historical icons/figures who define israel's heritage and ancestry...and how i think these accounts should be approached by the reader. i discovered an amazing children's book this past year entitled the Jesus storybook bible which tells in beautiful language (and beautiful illustrative brilliance!) the story of God's plan to redeem His broken/fallen creation through Jesus. so...i'm just going to include bibliographic info at the end of this post and make my blog today a recitation of some amazing thoughts intended for children (but enormous to our understanding of how to read the bible!):

now, some people think the bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. the bible certainly does have some rules in it. they show you how life works best. but the bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. it's about God and what He has done.

other people think the bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. the bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you'll soon find out) most of the people in the bible aren't heroes at all. they make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). they get afraid and run away. at times they are downright mean.

no, the bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. the bible is most of all a Story. it's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back His lost treasure. it's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves His palace, His throne-- everything--to rescue the one He loves. it's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

you see, the best thing about this Story is--it's true.

there are lots of stories in the bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. and at the center of the Story, there is a baby. every Story in the bible whispers His name....

(capitalization/punctuation/etc altered a bit in the transcription. :) )

from...Lloyd-Jones, Sally. the Jesus storybook bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

more about jacob and his story in my next post. for now, as you read about him, keep in mind sally lloyd-jones' perspective on how to think of these biblical characters...and how their stories will eventually lead to the most important Story/the one Big Story...of Jesus....

genesis/the first half

--personal thoughts--

so sorry my post was interrupted last night. my little girl and i will be recovering this morning from her 8-10 throwing-up episodes in the night. as of just a few minutes ago she was very cautiously taking sips of water from a spoon/the poor little thing is so dehydrated. :( i have another amazing story to share of something else that happened in the night...that i hope to share in a fb note later today. :) but for this morning...sorry for distractions of life. lol

--old testament understanding--

my old testament survey text has much to say about abram/abraham's faith and righteousness. when i started this study, i had some idea of how i wanted to write and what kinds of things were important to me to include and to bring to light in the blog, but i knew some of it would kind of be random and Holy Spirit-led and thoughts that were popping out at me too...i won't be touching on every story or every passage or every chapter even...sometimes just giving an overview or sometimes just pointing out one verse. all that said, i cannot move through genesis without spending some time/thought on the passage that records abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, isaac! this is key as it is a display of abraham's rock-solid faith in God and a display of God's enduring faithfulness to His promise.

isaac was a son born from an aged couple...who had waited for the promise that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars. a promise born. the hope of God's covenant-fulfilled. but when abraham was asked by God to sacrifice isaac, his faith remained and proved enduring. and when they went up the mountain with the wood and the fire...God intervened with the provision of a ram for sacrifice. it helps me to read about a man...imperfect, but with sustaining faith...and God's interactions with him. i know it is possible for me to trust God as abraham did. and i know God is faithful...this is especially important to my understanding of Him in times of testing.

as we have made our way, now more than halfway through this historical account of genesis, we are getting a picture of how our Creator God interacts with His creation. His desire is for us to come into relationship with Him. i love the accounts of enoch and of noah...when it records that they "walked with God." i want to walk with Him...to journey...to move forward...to get from here to there...with the One who knows my heart and mind and soul better than i know myself because He made me. a handful of characters, of course, just stand out to us as examples of faith...noah being one in addition to abraham with whom we see God made a covenant. God is faithful to His covenant of the rainbow in chapter 9...that He will never destroy the whole earth again with flood waters. He is faithful to His covenant with abraham that his descendants would be blessed...we will see how the nation of israel is established through isaac and jacob and his sons. God is faithful....

genesis 25-26

--old testament understanding--

i think it's fitting and timely to come back to comment on abraham and his covenant relationship with God and just recount the blessing of his life as we are reading about his last days. new american standard version says in v 8 of chapter 25, "abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life."

in chapter 26, at the end of verse 3 and into verse 4, the Lord said to isaac, "I will establish the oath which I swore to your father abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven , and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed...." in this text, the covenant that God had made with abraham is recounted and remembered...and spoken to isaac in blessing. chapter 15, verses 18 and following...record the covenant that God had made with abraham concerning his descendants and their inheritance of the land. there was evidence as recorded in v 17 that the Lord had passed between the animals which abram had sacrificed..."there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces." this ceremony went along with covenant and promise in that day...God was essentially saying, if i don't follow through on my end of the promise, may this be my fate (referring to the dead animals). He was promising to abram descendants as many as the stars in the sky.

--personal thoughts--

this will need to be continued...i have a daughter who is very sick tonight. :(

i did want to add that i will be posting additional resources that i want to reference as well as soon as i am able to locate one in particular that i wanted to use with our old testament study but have misplaced.... i will try to continue thoughts on abraham and isaac, and kind of do an overview of this first half of genesis/touching on noah again with some additional thoughts in the early a.m.

be blessed....

genesis 22-24

--personal thoughts--

friends, i definitely meant to post again yesterday evening concerning thoughts about the covenant relationship between God and abraham, but i guess i need to expect life to interrupt this in some measure. today has not made study and posting time very convenient either...so, i will hope for a sunday of productivity in this study.

thank you for your patience with me. so so sooooo glad to be reading through the bible this year. it is timely....

genesis 19-21

--personal thoughts--

well, it feels like we're flying through genesis. it's so packed full of ancient culture...the story/history of a people...much about how they interacted with one another/we'll look at covenants later today when i will post again. this morning, let's look at the sodom story...

--old testament understanding--

the angels came to lot with warning. and they stepped into the city that was breaking God's heart...to the extent that He would destroy it.

how desperate could lot have felt to protect the angels in chapter 19? i am seriously experiencing nausea thinking about his offer in v 7. that he would offer them his daughters to "do to them whatever you like"...this brings me to tears. WHAT IN THE WORLD?!!!

this city was in such a horrible place of immorality and injustice that God could not tolerate it anymore. and He didn't tolerate it.

--personal thoughts--

at passion 2012, the conference that we have attended this week, there was a very, very intentional focus on educating the students and adults that attended on the very real presence of slavery in the world today. they helped us to see the realities of the injustice and devastating sinful acts of a culture debased. this is all so fresh and on my mind...the pain of injustice on 27 million...the estimated number of slaves on the planet today. the thing is, it's not just forced labor...it's sex slavery...children/little girls as young as 4 yrs old...sold for sex.

as i think of sodom...this all comes to mind. the great injustice of this horrible place. i'm wondering why lot and his family had stayed as long as they had. were they so very desensitized to this culture of sin?

i am praying that i would know the justice of God and would see injustice the way He does. that i would not be desensitized nor be comfortable with injustice in my city....

genesis 16-18

genesis 18:14

is anything too difficult for the Lord?

(will catch up our study tomorrow...love to you)

genesis 12-15

--personal thoughts--

francis chan, passionate communicator at this conference we're attending, encouraged my heart to the core last night about reading the bible. he just passionately admonished us to read the Word...to study it. to take it literally...to go and live it out. see his talk at www.live.268generation.com. (just checked/i hope it will be available soon...then it will be up for 24 hrs. i think it will be "session four"...go to passion 2012-in red letters, then to live stream-in green) so excited to be reading the bible everyday!

i'm planning to come back to these early chapters in genesis toward the end of the week with thoughts from my study. but for today, i'm going to read and write about the back-story of genesis.

--old testament understanding--

in the bible there are these special people with whom God had special relations...as we read about noah, it was so evident why he was special. he was one in an evil day who desired God/sought after Him...and did not want to do evil. he was obedient to God's instruction, and his life and family were sustained.

abram was special as well. obedient to God's instruction. obedient to follow Him. he traveled away from his family's country and believed that God would bless him and that a nation would be born out of his obedience and that they would be given land on the earth to sustain them.

this twelfth chapter of genesis starts a section of the pentateuch referred to as the patriarchal history. abram's family and his story fill the remaining 38 chapters of genesis with narrative. this is further divided into sections about different characters: abraham (who is abram with a name-change), jacob, joseph...and genealogical records of ishmael and esau.

genesis gives back-story to all of history...from creation...to the flood account...to the record of the patriarch of the jewish peoples. most important in this is the idea that God has acted in history...reaching down to a man/to a people with a covenant that He established with abraham (more on that covenant later in the week)...to be involved in the plight of man and to establish them and to save them from sin that separates them from Him.

--personal thoughts--

i have an amaaaaaazing children's book called the Jesus storybook bible. written as an account of the old and new testaments...it continually points to Jesus (even in all of the old testament narratives/stories)...who will be born as a man to live and to die for us...to save us from sin and to reconnect us with Him. as we study the old testament, everything will point to Jesus like this. all of history...

here we are 2000+ years after Jesus walked the earth...on the other side of God's plan to redeem sin that has stained His creation. connection with Jesus is personal today...He lived and died and was resurrected so that we could be connected with God.

genesis 8-11

--personal thoughts--

all personal thoughts this morning. we are at passion 2012, a conference for young adults in atlanta and got in to our hotel after 130 am this morning...so, with a full day ahead, i'm gonna need to get a little more sleep. but...i wanted to get this to you, friends, while your day is starting. i haven't had my study time yet today, but just read chap 8 and am so excited about being able to relate to noah a little bit. i can't wait to go deeper, but for now, i am thinking about the raven and the dove.

scripture tells us that noah opened the window of the ark sending the raven out first...v 9 says "...he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself." very cool. have you ever held a bird on your hand?

my son, salem, got a beautiful little parakeet for his eighth birthday this past year. it is sooooo sweet. the first few days we had "peace-bird," he was so quiet and afraid of us. i distinctly remember first hearing his chirp and song...and thinking...awww, he is feeling more comfortable here. then, as we became more bold, peace-bird let us hold him. such an awesome feeling to have a bird's little claw feet grasping your finger.

as i think about noah's comfort level with the animals on the ark, i think about the longevity of their stay together/the time in that enclosed space. when noah's family left the boat-home... it says, (v 19) "every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark." i imagine the wide wooden ramp with clunky hooves and padded paws thudding down to land. they had spent many days confined together with their caretakers.

noah had walked through the assignment God had given him and was able to experience His faithfulness so very clearly as they embraced dry land. as he was building, i wonder what noah wondered...i imagine their first few days and weeks of motion-sickness and sadness and their interactions with the animals. the work had to be so hard. and...i relate. i look at my assignments today...what i am called to...and some days, it's very hard. so very tiring. but with quiet hope and sustaining stillness in my spirit, i hold on for the day when i am able to look back and rejoice in His faithfulness...seeing how He used me/Jesus in me to accomplish His purposes....

genesis 4-7

--personal thoughts--

there is so much to write about for these first few chapters of genesis...i am a bit limited in time this morning because we are preparing for a trip out of town, so i will come back to comment more on what i'm reading throughout the week. theological questions about the problem of sin and paradigm-shifting thoughts (for the one who may be taking a first look at the bible)...may be addressed as we read about cain and abel, the devastation of sin (6:5-6 says, "then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart..."), and the flood! wow...it's the second day of january/second day of studying the bible...and we see some heart-breaking/world-changing (literally!...geologically-changing...) events. so, some quick thoughts today and more throughout the week...

if you're just starting to read with us...i am using the "canonical plan" that youversion.com recommends for reading the bible from beginning to end in one year.

--old testament understanding--

themes throughout this section of text (chapters 4-7) include God's judgment and His sustaining grace. concerning cain and abel, we see God must punish sin. murder must be dealt with and...the murderous thoughts of man's heart. He says to cain in 4:7, "if you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? and if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." cain had to endure the consequences of his sin (God's judgment/see verses 11-12), but he also received God's mercy (v. 15).

the account of the flood also gives a clear picture of the need for God's judgment...and then the display of His enduring grace. more thoughts on these themes and especially the account of noah/his family and the flood throughout the week....

you are loved.

genesis 1-3

--personal thoughts--

ok...so before you start reading, i have to explain a bit. i just finished writing what you are about to read and came back up to the top to add these thoughts...i hope this meets your expectation! some days will be pretty simple. some will just simply outline what we've read. some blog-days will be packed full of information/history and background, etc. that you may have never read before. but i'm thinking that those of you who have responded to join this study have had so so much interaction with His Word that some days may not really contain anything enlightening at all for you...let those days simply be accountability/reading the bible together with friends kind of days. :) (i'm writing some of this simply to give overview and background as if someone had never picked up the Book before. :) ) thank you so so much for joining me!

Father, please speak to us through Your Word as we read daily. thank You so much for Your Word.

--old testament understanding--

as i have taught my children about the bible, i have compared it to a library. it has a lot of books in it that go under different categories. some are historical. some are poetic/etc....but they are all included in the bible because they were inspired by God.

the first five books of the old testament make up the "Pentateuch." the jews call this beginning section of the old testament the "Torah." the pentateuch contains much instruction including laws and regulations and such but also includes historical narrative describing the beginning/creation, God's relationship with His creation and His promise and deliverance as we will read much much more about.... the pentateuch has also been referred to as the books of the law.

genesis, being the first book in this section, outlines the seven days of creation, records the actions of adam and eve resulting in mankind's fall into sin, and God's relationship with man in the beginning and how that changed. genesis 1-11 has been described as one of two main sections in the book, the primeval history. genesis 12-50 has been described as the second of these two sections, the patriarchal history.

the first three chapters describe the creation of our world and of man in chapters 1 and 2, and of man's fall in chapter 3. these three chapters give such a sound foundation to our theology and our understanding of man's relationship with God/his Creator. there is a hebrew word (bara) that is used six or seven times in the creation account meaning "to create" that has God as its only subject in the old testament. there is no reference to materials out of which nature or man were created. our Creator God is sovereign.

--more personal thoughts--

man's fall to sin in the garden as described in chapter 3 had/has devastating effects. as i have gotten older and have experienced more and more in my life, my heart breaks and has felt like it is hopeless to heal sometimes.... however! God had a plan for redemption...for everyone born into sin. (and that means everyone...everyone but Jesus Himself who was sinless)....

resources for study

the books i am studying along with the bible are a collection of textbooks, the one referenced tonight as we begin genesis is...

LaSor, William Sanford, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic Wm. Bush. Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.

so...i will be posting additional resources this first week (probably toward the end of the week).

additional info about format...i'm thinking that i will probably include intro comments and personal thoughts either at the beginning or end of the blog...and keep facts and information and the meat of the study under the heading, old testament understanding (or later...new testament understanding) so you can skip right to it if your time is limited. :)

you are loved...and i am sooooo excited!

oh, btw...my post for this first day may be kind of late/we had quite a full day and are packing for a trip tonight. so sorry if i don't get it to you in time today....

love you all!

1 january 2012

today will have like three posts. it is a priority for me to blog either early early in the a.m. (earlier than this) or the night before so that my friends :) can read/access it at whatever time during the day is best. there will be some exceptions...this first blog day being one of them. this morning i just want to speak hope from my heart about this new beginning/new year.

scott and i fell asleep watching amazing grace last night. i awoke at 1215 to his kiss and "happy new yr"...and an audrey assad song playing on his mac, "show me." soft/quiet prayer saying...God, let me be everything You want me to be, but first show me how to rest in You and to die...to self. trying to get it linked in here so you can hear it...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b5Snkw18Lg

ahhh....this is my prayer for the new year. i want to rest in who He is and in His healing and in new life as i die to myself and let the past fall off. and i want to know Him and His Word.

i will post again later today with a list of resources that i will be using to study...and again with thoughts on genesis 1-3. you are loved.