In
the first couple chapters God showed that He created man to be in the image of
the trinity. One of the characteristics that is exclusively given to man by God
is freewill, the ability to make choices.
Adam
was given simple instructions about his responsibilities and what he was to
accomplish in obedience to God. He was to:
- Be a good steward of the creation
over which he was given authority to rule. (Gen. 1:26, 28)
- Be fruitful and multiply to continue
mankind. (Gen. 1:28)
- Eat vegetation given to him. (Gen.
1:29)
- Not eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. This command issued by God, demanded obedience from
Adam and Eve. To disobey would bring death to them and the possibility the end
of mankind itself. (Gen. 2:17)
To
be all of what God meant man in total obedience to be is a true definition of
one who is created in God’s image. God provided Adam with the opportunity that
no man has experienced. He was to be in perfect harmony with His creation and
relationship with Him. As we shall see
in chapter 3 and probably preceding the description of God walking in the
garden in the cool of the evening, that special time with the Lord had surely
been going on from the time man was first created. There was nothing to spoil
the perfect world of Eden as long as man was in perfect communion with the
Father.
All
of that was about to change as man asserted his free will. From the events seen
in chapter 3 it appears that having a perfect world was not enough for man. The
man and woman were easy targets for the wiles of the devil.
Eve
was about to commit acts that would radically redefine the course of history
and showed her open rebellion to God’s authority. The apostle John summed up
what we shall see in his letter to the church at Ephesus. He wrote about the
trap the world offers into which Adam and Eve were caught. He said, “For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world”. Of the
things man believes are so important are temporary at best for he wrote, “The
world is passing away, and also its lusts.” 1 John 2:16-17
Falling
for the serpent’s sales pitch she turned her attention once more to the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil with a new level of interest. At the time of her
decision Eve did three things that clearly showed a heart attitude of rebellion
against God’s authority. She:
- Determined the fruit was good for
food.
- Liked its physical appearance.
- Believed it would be the source of
wisdom.
- Actually, Eve ate of the fruit and
then gave some to Adam to eat. By doing so she involved him in her conspiracy
against God.
Sadly,
with the eating of the fruit she received the very thing she desired because
the eyes of both of them were opened.
But with all of man’s rebellion against God the results are never what
God had determined was the best for them. (Gen. 3:6-7
The
only difference between what Eve did and Adam’s sin is she allowed herself to
be deceived while he voluntarily took the fruit from her hand and ate it. They
now had the knowledge of good and evil. As a consequence of that one act on the
part of both of them every generation since that time has been cursed with a
sin nature. (Gen. 3:6)
Things
did not turn out as expected. Instead of becoming like God they were soon to
discover that God did not relinquish His throne and authority. Instead of
being:
- Wise they became ashamed of their
nakedness and were afraid to face God.
- In God’s earthly paradise called the
Garden of Eden they found themselves outside with no way to return.
- God’s steward of His created world
Adam would now have to toil to harvest food by waging a continuous battle
against the thorns and weeds that the land would now produce.
- A god Eve found herself under the
authority of Adam, who now himself was a sinful individual.
- Joyful for the progeny that would be
born through her the ordeal would be one filled with pain, but even with the
pain she would still desire relationship with her husband. (Gen. 3:16-19)
It
is interesting that God pronounced His judgments on the serpent before laying
out the future for Adam and Eve and all of those would follow after them. For
his part in the devil did not get the outcome he hoped for out of the
incident. Knowing that Jesus was going
to come in the future, I believe he either hoped to dominate the couple or that
God would destroy man because of sin and Christ would never be born. God stated
three things to the serpent. He would:
- Be the eternal enemy of man
- Move around on its belly
- Eventually meet with complete defeat
at the hands of the Savior of the world.
(Gen.
3:14-16)
It
is a commentary on the condition man that after the fall there is no reference
in the Bible of God speaking communing with the two of them again. Man had
broken the relationship. Nothing He
would say could repair the damage caused by their rebellion. Man would have to
wait thousands of years before redemption came in the form of the God/Man, the
second Adam. From that point own the
Scripture is full of the failures of man to be reconciled with the Father.
In
the story of Cain and Abel is seen the sin of man after the fall being played
out for all to see. At some point both men seemed to acknowledge the reality of
God.
Each
person who is saved comes to Christ in a unique way. The common factor is the
realization that he or she is in need of a Savior. To acknowledge that fact
brings about the defining moment of beginning a life in Christ. What is
different for each person is the way he comes to that decision. Many can tell the exact moment when he became
a Christian. To others the understanding of the need for Christ comes over a
period of time and many experiences feed into the story. For every person
salvation is in a way a mystery. How is it that the Almighty Creator of the
whole universe has provided a way for each person who desires it to have a
personal relationship with Him? As we
read through the Scripture, we are not always told the exact point in time when
a person moves from being lost to gaining eternal life. The other mystery is
that only God knows when the decision made is genuine and will lead one into
eternity.
This
is true of the two brothers, the first children of Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us that the men knew God, at
least knew of Him. Surely their parents
had told them all about what God had done in creating the world and their part
of the story. Each man reacted
differently. Their sacrifices brought to Him reflected the view they had of
God. The practice of worship would lead to the defining moment in the life of
one of them. I say just one because by the time the story reaches its climax
Abel would be dead. It is obvious that Abel had a deeper relationship with the
Father than Cain.
Somehow,
he understood it was not enough to just bring some of the harvest as Cain did
by the best and the first of his possession to be presented as an acceptable
sacrifice.
This
may have become a pattern in Cain’s life to present to God enough to get
by. Finally, God came to him to settle
accounts. It reminds me of the number of
times Jesus spoken of being faithful with what God has put into the hands of
man to manage for Him. Cain had been remiss in honoring God with the sacrifices
He deserved.
Rather
than being repentant of his sin his response was to become angry and
despondent. God provided Cain with a second chance. He first asked him a
question. “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?” He then
provided him with a solution to his sinful attitude. He said, “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.” (Gen.
4:6-7)
Here
is the second recorded defining moment in the life of Cain. The first was the
acknowledgement of God. The second was
the opportunity to repent and return to the Father who had given life and
blessings. At that moment Cain chose to
rebel against God. He took out his anger
and frustration on his brother Abel and killed him. Because of anger and
jealousy, we have the written account of the first murder in the world. (Gen.
4:8)
As
usually happens people will lie to cover up their guilt. Cain could not however
hide what he had done from God. God declared him guilty by stating that He knew
what had taken place. The very thing that keeps a man alive, the blood that
courses through his veins had been spilled out and Abel’s blood was seen in
heaven as evidence of the crime committed. Cain’s life was spared because God
had not yet established the law that said that a man was to be executed when he
killed another human being. In a way
Cain’s sentence was fitting. He was cast out into the strange and unfamiliar
world to roam and fear all of his life with no place to call a permanent home.
Sin
is lurking at the door of every man’s life to destroy his relationship with the
Father. Paul admonished the Romans to be careful with these words, “Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.” (Rom.
6:12) Cain did not heed the warnings he had received from God. He chose to give into that sin. He allowed it
to become his master. After a defining
moment is reached, any act that follows is just an extension of that decision.
That moment was a turning point in Cain’s life from which there was no turning
back. (Gen. 4:3, 5-7, 13-14; Rom. 6:12; Heb. 11:4-5)
One
of Cain’s descendants, Lamech followed in his footsteps. In him was seen the
same kind of rebellion against God in full bloom. In the killing of both man
and boy he set himself as judge and jury in deciding to mete out the extreme
punishment against the two of them. Gen. 4:23. Neither of the acts committed
against him would justify murder on his part. Not only that, he set himself up
as greater than his father, Cain. His statement to his two was a good indicator
of the pride that filled his life. He said, “If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then
Lamech seventy-fold.” (Gen. 4:24)
After
that one glimpse into the life of Lamech and his evil actions, he is never
mentioned in Scripture again. I think that this incident was inserted to show
just how far a man would go in turning away from God. His defining moment made
him an infamous character in the annals of time.
When
Cain was banished to wander on the earth as a vagrant there was no one to
preserve the line of Jesus. Adam and Eve however were determined to carry out
the mandate of God to multiply and inhabit the earth. To them was born Seth. At
the time of his birth Eve spoke the following words, “God has appointed me
another offspring in place of Abel. For Cain killed him.” Through him the
ancestry of Jesus continued and was not destroyed, as the devil may have
desired. (Gen. 4:25) Notice he was to be listed in the descendants of Adam. Cain
was excluded, although there were children born to him.
After
Seth, Enosh his son was born. More importantly it was the writer put it, “Then
men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” (Gen. 4:26) Why am I including
the tow verses 25-26 in material on defining moments? It seems to me that the
Moses was trying to show his listeners that the world had come through a time
of apostasy. Both Cain and Lamech had brought a new level of evil and rebellion
into the world. It was now time for men
to turn back and begin to worship the Lord.
Probably the manifestation of this was a return to the presenting
sacrifices. We first were exposed to them in the life of Abel and men were once
again beginning to acknowledge the Lord in their lives.
It
is interesting that the mention of man calling on the name of God occurred at
the beginning of the genealogy of Adam following the birth of Enosh. We are
told, first of all, “When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.”
(Gen. 5:1) Moses then goes on to said, “He created them male and female and He
blessed them and named them Man in the day they were created.” (Gen. 5:2)
It
is obvious that it was important because author spoke concerning man and woman
and their relationship to Him and to each other more than once. The normal God given relationship He set up
from the very beginning was between man and woman. Through their union
eventually the Savior of the world would come.
It
would be in the life of Enoch, seven generations from Adam, that we see a man
who in ways revealed to us came to know God in a personal way. We shall see it again, but it is still a
wonderful mystery to see the way God works in the lives of men. Enoch at some
point had his defining moment. We are given a clue because from the time of the
birth of his son Methuselah when he was sixty-five years old, he spent the rest
of his three hundred sixty-five years walking with His Father. We have to ask
ourselves what cause that one man to have such faith. Although, it is an amazing fact that unlike
any of us he had available combined wisdom of all of his ancestors dating back
to Adam were still alive during his lifetime. We would think that the stories
told by them would have influenced the spiritual life of each person to the
extent that they would have been like Enoch. The question is how was Enoch
different? What moved in his heart that completely changed his life in a way
that made him unique among the early patriarchs? It was obviously the Holy Spirit working is
his heart that brought him into the personal relationship with God. We to this day do not understand how out of a
family or a group of people that one person will be attuned to the calling of
Christ while those around him do not hear the call.
Not
only was Enoch a true follower of God but also a prophet. In naming his son
Methuselah he spoke a prophecy of the judgement on mankind that would take
place because of the depravity of each man’s heart that was becoming rampant in
the world. The fulfillment of those words would take place at the end of
Methuselah’s life. The meaning of his name was “When he dies, it will come.” (Gen
5:22-24)
His
reward for his faithfulness was to be translated into heaven without having to
go through the pangs of death. We can now have that same experience because of
what Christ did for each of us on the cross.
None
of us know the impact our descendants will have on the world. Lamech, Enoch’s
grandson and Methuselah’s son spoke words about his son that could have only
been a hope. He seemed to be depending on the next generation to make the world
a better place to live. We hear this all
the time when it is said, “what kind of world are we going to leave to our
children?” Or “I hope they can straighten out the mess we have made of things.”
To me it is a sad state of affairs when we try to live vicariously through our
children and taking responsibility for the time we are given here on earth.
Lamech said basically:
- Give us rest so we do not have to
work so hard.
- It was God’s fault for making life so
difficult in our labor.
- It was God’s, not man’s fault that
the ground was cursed.
(Gen. 5:28)
When
a man recognizes the part, he plays in this fallen world, it is the beginning
of working towards solutions. We can never accomplish anything by continually
blaming others. No one gets anywhere by
constantly throwing pity parties. God wants us to confess our sins so that He
can forgive us. Only then can anyone be used for the benefit of the human
race. We are not given the responsibility
to fix the whole world, but we surely can try to make where we are a better
place. Misplaced as it was for Lamech,
like him each person does have hope that his or descendants will add to the
world and not be weight that drags it down.
God
was preparing for the future. Noah could not know lay ahead. We are told before the story unfolded for him,
he had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth through whom the whole world would be
repopulated.
By
the time Noah had reached the age of five hundred the world had become an
immoral and evil place. Sexual immorality had become prevalent with children
being born who did know or want to have anything to do with God. For the most part godless parents will
produce godless children. It was at critical period in the history of Adam’s
descendants that God determined to bring judgment on His creation.
In
the midst of such a trying time there stood out one man who was different than
all others. Not even Noah’s father or grandfather found favor with God as both
lived well after God’s prophecy to destroy the world had been given. In fact,
Methuselah lived up to the year of the great flood.
Once
again, we see God working in a man’s heart in spite of the circumstances
swirling about him. Noah is described as:
- One who found favor with God
- A righteous man
- Blameless in his time
- One who walked with God (Gen. 6:8-9)
Although
Noah was a man after God’s own heart, he still had to face his hour of decision
on his own. It had to be difficult for him to comprehend that God was going to
bring judgment on the earth with a great flood when there had never been rain
up until his day. Then to be told to
build a great boat because the rain was going to come at some point in time
took a lot of faith. True to his
character the Scriptures tells us, “Thus Noah did according to all that God
commanded him, so he did. (Gen. 6:22; Heb. 11:7)
It
took a hundred years, but the floods came just as God had promised. Because
Noah had been willing to be obedient from the first moment God came to him, he
and his immediate family and the animals were saved from being destroyed along
with every other living being on the face of the earth. (Gen. 7:23)
There
turned out to be one dark spot in the story of Noah. The decisions of each of
his three sons when their father became drunk and lay naked in his tent would
affect the lives of each of them from that moment on until this day. Each of
the son’s responded to Noah’s situation in a different way. In patriarchal
society when the father was to be respected and held in high esteem Ham did
just the opposite by sharing with his brothers their father’s condition. Both
Shem and Japheth acted to protect Noah’s name. Each of them took a blanket,
backed into the tent and covered their father without looking at him. We do not
know how he knew that it was Ham who had shown such disrespect, but it is
obvious from the prophecy he proclaimed that he did. While the two older
brothers received a blessing the family of Ham through his son Canaan was
cursed forever. The land the Israelites would eventually conquer was named
after Noah’s grandson.
When
the people began to spread out over the face of the earth a number of them came
to the land of Shinar. There they decided to build a city and a tower to
establish a name for themselves. The tower was an effort to show that man did
not need God to succeed. They could build a building that would reach all the
way to heaven. It would ultimately become the city of Babylon. God would not
put up with such arrogance but so long. He came into the presence of the people
involved and not only scattered them but changed their language so they could
not understand one another any longer.
The
attitude of man is still the same as in the day of the Tower of Babel. He is
continually attempting to make a place for himself without God. As He did with
the people, who were rebelling against Him, God will intervene and bring about
judgment. One thing for sure God will
not be ignored by any people and not suffer the consequences of that decision.
(Gen. 11:4-9)
For
each of us there, if we are honest with ourselves, is the realization that the
relationship with God that is growing in our lives is not a straight line from
conversion to a committed true disciple of Jesus Christ. There are fits and
starts, hills and valleys, mistakes, right and wrong decisions. Sometimes we
stay on the path toward godliness, but quite often we stray in many different
directions. As we take a look at Abraham’s life there are many aspects that we
can identify in ourselves that are reflected in his walk.
The
life of Abram who would later be called Abraham is an interesting study in
human nature. He would be called a
friend of God and a man of righteousness, but in his life, there were many
decisions made that seem to be in conflict with those descriptions of him. Like
us the development of his character was a slow process. It would take more than
twenty-five years for his faith to become strong. However, from the very first that we hear of
him in Genesis God saw the potential end results of complete devotion for Him,
He would obtain from Abraham.
Even
though it would be one of the important incidents occurring in his life that
would be a defining moment for him, we have mistakenly thought it was Abram who
decided to leave Ur of Chaldeans. In Actually, it was Terah, Abram’s father who
led the expedition from his home country of Ur to Haran in present day Syria.
His plan was to ultimately proceed into the land of Canaan. Terah, however died
there in Syria. Abraham thus became the
patriarch of the family at that point in time. He probably would have settled
down there in Haran if the Lord had not intervened. The earlier decision of his
father did however position Abram and his family to follow through on Terah’s
original plan to move into Canaan. (Gen. 11:31-32)
There
were many events that would occur in Abraham’s life leading to a greater and
greater relationship with the Father. Of course, none of the others would have
taken place unless he had been obedient in to leaving all that was familiar and
comfortable. God had plans had for him he could not even begin to comprehend.
Until the death of Terah he had been under the authority of his father. He was
now to make decisions that would affect the future of his family. Those choices
would define him as a man of God.
The
Bible never explains why Terah decided to leave Ur of the Chaldees in the first
place. There could been many reasons, but there have been a couple of
possibilities. It may have been the need for new grazing land for his flocks of
sheep. He may not have been very concern
about the influence that the pagan culture was having on his family. We will see
a weakness in Lot later on that might give credence to the latter idea. It is a
mystery known only to God why such a drastic change would be brought about in
the life of a family. We do not have an explanation from Scripture to let us in
on God’s decision- making process. There only one way we know about the events
that took place. It was while in Syria that Abram received instructions for the
next phase of his life.
Having
said that it would not be an unusual situation for a family to pick up and move
from one place to another. Abram’s family was probably nomads as shall be seen
by his travels throughout the rest of his life.
What
would have been different was the method by which Abram was called to leave
Haran. The actual act of moving would
not seem strange for a man who had an adventurous nature and was always looking
for greener pastures. However, to be directed to go into a land completely
unknown to him took courage and a certain degree of faith. This mindset may
have played a part in his willingness to move. From the very beginning of time individuals have
been curious about what lay ahead around the next bend of the road. (Gen.
12:1-4; Acts 7:3-4; Heb. 11)
As
was mentioned above, Abram who would become Abraham was a man of many
contrasts. On the one hand we are told that Abram was declared righteous
because of his faith. He then turned around and did things that spoke of a man
who thought he was in control of his own future.
Thankfully,
God did not turn His back on Abram but was with him both in Egypt and Gedar.
(Gen.
12:1-4; Acts 7:3-4; Heb. 11)
Fits
and starts are terms that could be used to describe Abram’s process toward truly
becoming the man of God through whom the covenant would be realized. Some of
those experiences that would occur along the path toward God included:
- God’s command to Abraham was for him
to leave everything and everyone behind before entering into the land God was
going to give him. He disobeyed by taking his nephew, Lot with him. That
decision would later on cause him problems when the conflict started because of
their possessions. (Gen. 12:5)
- Abraham’s decision to go into Egypt.
This act would lead to the conflict between Lot and him over the lack of grazing
land available for of the livestock the two owned.
(Gen 12:10)
- Abraham asked Sarah to pretend to be
his sister in order to keep from being killed by the Egyptians. Here again is
seen how weak Abraham’s faith was. God had already told him that he would be
the founder of a great nation. If he had been truly listening, He would have
realized that in order for that to happen God was going to protect him no
matter where he went. To not bring
Abraham through difficult circumstances would mean that God was a big enough
God to carry out the promises He had made. (Gen. 12:10-20)
- Displaying a tentative faith. When
God told him that he would be the father of a great nation and possess the land
where he was living, he sought a sign to prove that what he was being told was
true. (Gen. 15:6)
- His decision to take matters in his
own hands to have a family by having a child by his wife’s slave, Hagar. That
one act has had a detrimental effect on history from that time on to this day.
Ishmael would be the ancestor to the Arab world who are present day enemies of
Israel, Abraham’s descendants. (Gen 16)
- Once again using his old tactic to
protective himself while in Gerar. Abraham had not learned in lessons from his
first trip into Egypt. Once again, He was willing to put Sarah and the future
of the promised covenant in danger by asking her to pretend to be his sister.
(Gen. 20:2-13)
Lot,
the albatross around Abraham’s neck comes into the picture. He reminds me of
the son who is still living in the basement of his parent’s home until he is
thirty expecting them to take care of him in the same way they did when he was
young. Even it was common in that culture for a number of generations to live
together two things stand out about the relationship between Abraham and Lot.
First, Lot was not Abraham’s responsibility because he was not his son but a
nephew. Secondly, God had specifically commanded Abraham to leave all of his
family behind in Haran before going into the land of Canaan. It was time for Lot to separate from his
uncle and begin a life on his own. Following the journey into Egypt there arose
a conflict between the herdsmen of Abraham and those taking care of Lots
livestock. There was not enough grass
for the combined livestock to feed. Abraham allowed Lot to choose any of the
land for his new home. Abraham would then go in the opposite direction. Lot’s
defining moment came when he decided to move toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Like so
many choices made during a person’s lifetime his move looked like a good idea
at first. He chose a land with plenty of water and as the Bible says, it was
“like the garden of the Lord.” Although, initially he located his family close
to the two evil cities he eventually moved into Sodom. (Gen. 13:10,12)
It
was Lot’s decision to move to Sodom which set in motion the events that would
be devastating to his family. It brought about:
- Compromise with a pagan society
- The capture by pagan kings and rescue
by Abraham. It appears by this time Lot had lost all that he possessed before
moving away from Abraham.
- Death of his wife
- Acts of incest with his two daughters
(Gen.
14:11-16; 19:1-38; Luke 17:32)
As
was mentioned earlier, one of his mistakes was having Absalom by Hagar at the
insistence of Sarah. His lack of faith of
not waiting for God’s timing in having a descendant led to conflict in his
family. Ultimately, after Isaac had grown into childhood things came to a head
when Sarah commanded that Ishmael and his mother be sent away. Ishmael grew
into a man who was at odds with those around him. The world is still
experiencing the evil that came from Abraham taking the future in his own hands.
(Gen. 16: 1-12; 21:9-21)
The
child of promise was born to Abraham and Sarah. God’s covenant to Abraham was
beginning to come to fruition at the birth of Isaac. (Gen. 21:1-8)
It
is an amazing thing that for all the experiences Abraham had in his over one
hundred years it took his willingness to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to have God
say to him what had never been part of their conversation before. God was about
to test him in a way that had taken place in his life. To offer one’s only son
would be ultimate sacrifice that a parent could make. Abraham was obedient in a
way that not many people would be. Of
course, this was a picture of what God would do with His own Son. Jesus willingly
laid down his life as a sacrifice for all of us. The moment that would decide
to whom He owed everything was being willing to give up that one who was his
only true hope for the posterity of his family and future of God’s chosen
people. His name was Isaac. At this decisive
moment, Abraham heard God speak. He said, “I know that you fear God, since you have
not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
In
that one moment Abraham’s life was turned from one of self-preservation to
total commitment. He understood that God was the One truly in charge of his
life and the events surrounding him. In faith was evident in the fact that he
believed that God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice or somewhat raise
Isaac from the dead. Figuratively, he
did receive his son back from the dead.
(Gen.
22:8,10-12,16-18: Heb. 11:17-19)
It was only after Abraham offered the substitute for Isaac
did God speak to him and then made one of the greatest promises of all. He was
told that He would be the ancestor of the Savior of the world. (Gen. 22:16-18)
Abraham had gotten old and there was no suitable candidate
for a wife for Isaac to be found among the people of Canaan. Therefore, Abraham sent his trusted servant
to Syria to find a wife for Isaac from the family of Laban, his nephew. We discover the next defining moment in the sequence
of events leading up to the choice of Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife. We might find
it amazing that she would decide to go with Abraham’s servant whom she had
never met and travel to a foreign land to marry someone she did not know. Her
willingness to leave her family would eventually lead to the birth of Jacob and
Esau who would continue the lineage of Abraham which would lead to the birth of
Christ.
(Gen 24:58)
The story shifts from Isaac to certain important events in
their lives that would impact history from that point on. That is exactly what
defining moments do in each person’s life, some on a much larger scale than
others as we shall see in the lives of the grandsons of Abraham.
In a way the destiny of each of them was established before
they were born. Rebekah was told by God what the future held for the two boys.
The family of one would be stronger than the other. The promise that would turn
decorum on its head was that the older would serve the younger son, thus given
him first place over his brother. As the events unfolded in each of their lives
it will be seen how decisions made by each of them would bring the prophecy to
pass.
It was Esau who set the stage for Jacob to become the inheritor
of the promises made to Abraham and thus become the more dominant brother. By
his actions Esau disqualified himself from being used by God.
Esau married a Hittite woman from the descendants of Canaan,
the son of Ham. As we read earlier Canaan had received the curse from Noah and
would become servants of Shem. This marriage displeased Isaac and Rebekah and
excluded him from being an ancestor of Jesus.
(Gen. 26:34-35)
The second major decision, to sell his birthright for a bowl
of bean soup set the stage for the others that would affect his place in
history down the road. It showed a man who was more concerned about his
physical needs which brought immediate gratification without regard for the
future consequences of his action.
(Gen. 25:29-33)
The final act that sealed his place in history was
completely out of the hands of Esau. It was a request made by his father and a
deception perpetrated by Jacob and Rebekah. That act of deception became the
truly defining moment of her life. It came a great personal cost to her. The
sequence of events that were all part of her desire to ensure the position of
Jacob to receive the portion of Isaac’s estate which would have normally gone
to the eldest son. Rebekah:
- Influenced Jacob to deceive his father.
- Although mentioned in the Bible probably lost
the trust of her husband. After all was accomplished surely, he would have
known that Jacob could not have accomplished the act alone.
- Angered Esau to the point that he considered
murder of his brother. To retaliate for what was done to him, he took
additional wives from pagan societies.
- Never saw Jacob again. If she did those times
were never recorded in Scripture.
One has to wonder if later in life reflected on her actions.
She had to ask herself was the consequences she experienced worth the deception
that she has carried out against her husband.
(Gen. 27:5-41)
After Jacob had stolen the blessing intended for Esau, Esau
came to the stark realization of what he had so flippantly given up for a bowl
of bean soup.
(Gen. 27:36-38; Heb. 11:20)
What seemed like a good idea at the time would cost Jacob 20
years of his life as he had to flee from his brother and leave the home he had
always known. During those years with
Laban his father-in-law he married two sisters and had 12 children in all. Benjamin
was not yet born. He finally fled from Syria to return back to his father in
Canaan. As he travelled, he was confronted
by none other than Jesus.
(Gen. 27:43-32:33)
While waiting to meet Esau, for the second time in his life
Jacob found himself completely alone. The first time was he fled from his
brother and found himself at Bethel. It was completely different from his
current situation. The previous time he had nothing to lose because everything
had belonged to his father. Even though he had the birthright and the blessing
they were just empty possibilities because he did not know what the future held
for him. His circumstances were now different. He had responsibilities for all
he possessed. There was now a family, slaves and livestock of various kinds to
be considered. There was a possibility
that he could lose all of it when he met his brother.
Only when he had faced his greatest challenge in life by
wrestling with God’s messenger would he receive the name, “Israel”. Indeed, God
gave him a new name which mean one who strives with God and man and succeeds.
Although that event was to be defining moment for Jacob, the one thing it did
not accomplish immediately was killing his old human nature. His old sin nature
was still evident in his subsequent meeting with his brother.
(Gen. 32:14-30)
When thinking about Esau it is easy to write him off as one
of the lesser characters in the Bible. This may be a natural tendency because
we read in Malachi 1:2 and Romans 9:13 that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. If
Esau was not important to God, why should we give him much attention. There are
some practical concepts about forgiveness and overcoming circumstances that are
seen in his life. He held onto the
promise from Isaac that he would eventually break the yoke of servitude from
around his neck. (Gen. 27:40) So, let us step back a take another look at
Esau’s life and what God can do in one person we might view as a second class.
It is evident as we shall see that sometime during the
period of the twenty years since Jacob had left that God had been working in
Esau’s life. No, he could not get the birthright or blessing back because they
were no longer his. The one thing he had
the power to do was to forgive his brother. No longer did he hold onto the
hatred he had for Jacob but had relinquished it long before he was to meet with
his brother. As we see in the Scripture in a way the shoe was on the other foot
so to speak. Jacob possibly because of guilt had a great fear of meeting his
brother face to face again. Esau had forgiven Jacob and thus was a free man
long before Jacob knew that he was free from the penalty of his sin.
Jesus brought forgiveness to each of us long before we knew
that it was available to us. We walked around with the guilt resulting from our
old sin nature until God met us where we were and said we were free and part of
His family. Like, what Jesus did for all mankind, Esau was offering
reconciliation between Jacob who did not deserve forgiveness and himself. Esau
was making the offer even before Jacob knew it was available to him. The
forgiveness of Esau was a foreshadowing of what was done for each of us through
the death of Jesus on the cross. He brought two parties who were at enmity with
each other brought them together in a new relationship.
One other point that needs to be made before moving on. It
is clear that a new view of the relationship that might be available to him was
important enough for Esau to go to Jacob. If he had still wanted to kill Jacob
all he had to do was wait until he had gotten closer to home. He made the
journey from his place of comfort to go to meet his brother not knowing what
awaited him. Again, this has to remind us of Jesus who left His home in glory
to become just like the man He came to save not knowing how He would be
received. His sacrifice offered every
person the opportunity to have his own personal defining moment of be
reconciled to God.
(Gen. 32:6)
What was taking place in Jacob’s heart was just the
opposite. If there was to be any relationship with his brother reestablished it
would be on his terms. Everything he contrived
was for, ultimately his own self-preservation. This was obvious from the grand performance he
put on to attempt to placate Esau. What is seen in his excuses his mistrust of
his brother. One of the reasons given was so full of holes that it should have
been plain to see by all what Jacob was doing. He had presented Esau with a
gift from his herds and flocks to be taken back by Esau to his home. When Esau suggested they travel together
Jacob basically said that his animals were not up to the trip. Those presented
as gift were from the same herds and flocks as the one’s Jacob claimed could
not be pushed. To his credit and showing the kind of man he had become, Esau
returned home with the gift and without Jacob and all that belonged to him.
Esau had changed but at that point Jacob appears to be same man he was before
the whole episode.
(Gen. 33:1-13)
Jacob still had many lessons to learn, but that was the
beginning point of the changes that need to take occur in his life. There in
Peniel he received the blessing and promise, not from man but from God. He
believed that God had preserved him even though he had seen the very face of
God and lived.
(32:24-30)
An incident involving Jacob’s daughter occurred because he did
not follow through on his promise to continue his journey until he came to the
place where Esau was living. Establishing a residence among the people of
Shechem led to rape of Dinah and the subsequent death of all the men in
Shechem.
Of course, not all of the responsibility need fall on
Jacob’s shoulders. Shechem the son of Hamor was old enough to control is
emotions and not rape Dinah. The act,
even though Shechem tried to play down the severity of his actions by offering
to marry the girl. His offer did not placate the anger of her brothers leading
to the destruction of a whole city.
(Gen. 33:18-34:31)
Jacob was commanded to travel to Bethel and live there to
reestablish the relationship he had. He wisely followed God’s command. His
first time at Bethel had been when he was fleeing from Esau. It was there that Jacob had been a
rudimentary altar and promised that if he returned to the land that God would
be his God and that he would tithe all that he had. (Gen. 35:1)
The decision to share his dreams with his brothers and then
his father would forever alter the course of Joseph’s life. It started a
sequence of events that would take him all the way to Egypt.
(Gen. 37:5-10)
Not only was it a defining moment in the lives of Joseph and
his brothers but also a breaking point in a relationship that was fragile at
best and was to get even worse. Even
though it might seem that the dreams Joseph were the cause of the hatred his
brothers had for him, the roots went very deep in the dynamics of the family’s
life. They were only the tipping point
that drove the brothers to take drastic measures against him. The decision to
sell their brother would have a permanent effect on each of their lives from
that point on. Every day they had to live with the consequences of their
actions. I will cover some of the forces at work when I write specifically
about Judah. Although he played a major role in what took place in this
narrative, I would prefer to view the changes that God brought about in his
life by the time he made the second trip down to Egypt.
(Gen. 37:26-35; 42:21-22)
Without going into a lot of detail before looking at the
future events in Joseph’s experiences in Egypt there is one point to be made
here which will emphasized again. Joseph’s time of testing and trials came
about partly because of Jacob’s partiality towards him. He was his father’s
favorite son and the affection he had for him was on display for everyone to
see. We can see how this would breed jealousy in the hearts of his brothers.
(Gen. 37:3)
As mentioned, Joseph was his father’s favorite son. This led
to an attitude of superiority towards his brothers. The beginning of his
downfall came when he tattled to his father bringing “a bad report” about them
to Jacob. (Gen. 37:2) Compounding the situation were the dreams that placed
Joseph as ruler over the other brothers and then over the whole family
including Jacob and Leah. (Gen 37:5-10)
From that point on they could not even speak to him because
of their anger. Their opportunity came to get rid of the pest. Jacob sent him to
find out how his brothers were doing while watching over the sheep. They all
saw his appearance, first as an opportunity to kill him so they would longer
have to put up with him. They changed their minds and decided to sell him to
Midianite traders. They could not of course see by killing him would eventually
put their own lives and those of their families in jeopardy. They were also short-sighted
in not thinking how their actions would affect Jacob when they presented to him
supposed evidence of Joseph’s death. (Gen. 37:18-35)
Before we return to Joseph this would be a good place to
look at Judah’s part in the future of Jacob’s family. To do so we will not be
covering the events in the rest of Genesis in chronological order. More
important than the order we have an opportunity how the events in one’s life do
become defining moments that change a man’s life. God does truly is the One working behind the
scenes moving a person in a particular direction.
Some of the things that occurred in Judah’s life were
completely beyond his control. In a way God would take even the wrong decisions
and use them for His purpose and glory. Let’s look at see how Judah got to the
point of being God’s instrument.
- Judah was the fourth son born to Leah. His name
actually means praise. Although Leah was Jacob’s first wife through deception, her
husband actually loved Rachel, Joseph’s mother more than the other wives.
- Although we are not told this in the Bible we
can be assured as Judah and the others got older, they would have been aware
that their mother was not the first chose of Jacob.
- When Joseph came along, he became the favorite
son leaving the others to get the scraps of his affection.
- Early on it was obvious the he rather than
Reuben was going to be the leader among his brothers.
- Judah was the one who suggested that they should
sell Joseph rather than kill him.
- For some reason Judah decided to move away from
the rest of the family. During that time, he married Shua a Canaanite woman by
whom he had three sons. His wife died and two of his sons died because as the
Bible said God took their lives because they were evil leaving Tamar the wife
of both them as a widow.
- After the death of his two sons Judah had sexual
relations with Tamar. It would appear
that Tamar would go to any lengths to preserve the name of her husband, even to
pretending to be a harlot. Under the practice of the Levirate tradition she
should have become the wife of Shelah. When she saw that was not going to
happen, she took matters into her own hands. Her actions were not without
risks. There was good possibility that she could have been executed because she
committed fornication. From her union with Judah two additional sons were born.
One of them whose name was Perez would become an ancestor of Jesus.
- Years later when a famine had come upon the known
world the sons of Jacob made two trips to Egypt to buy food. During that first
trip Joseph, who his brothers did not recognized demanded that they would not
be allowed to buy anymore food unless the returned with their younger brother.
Jacob delayed sending the men back to purchase more food even when offered his
own two sons be sacrificed if he did not return with Benjamin. Even with such a promise he was afraid
something might happen to Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother.
- We begin to see the what God had been doing in
Judah’s heart. The one who was callous in selling his brother now promised his
father that he would protect the boy. Although the decision to sell Joseph was
ruled by a mob mentality, Judah would now be faced with his own defining moment.
He could not begin to understand what it meant when he said to his father, “I
myself will be a surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him
(Benjamin). If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let
me bear the blame before you forever.” Jacob saw before him in Judah one who
had changed and could now be trusted with Benjamin’s safety. Notice that Jacob
now relied on Judah as a man of his word and not Reuben, the oldest son. The
indiscretion of Reuben with Bilhah had diminished his standing in his Father’s
eyes. Judah along with all of his brothers, including Benjamin, set out on
their second and what would be a very eventful journey. We shall see in the
next chapter whether the changes in Judah were real. Would he be a man of his
word when faced with a challenged he had never experienced before. (Gen 43:9)
- When
Benjamin was accused of stealing Joseph’s cup, Judah stepped forward and
offered himself as a replacement to take his younger brother’s punishment. He
lived up to the promise he had made to his father. (Gen. 44:15-34) Unlike Benjamin
who was falsely accused we are guilty of sin deserving death, but Jesus stepped
before His Father and offered Himself as our substitute.
- In
his plea to Joseph there is a picture of a mature man who had outgrown his
jealousies, had forgiven his father for the neglect that he and his brothers
had experienced and had come to have a deep love for Jacob. The last thing that he would want to see
happen was for Jacob again go through the deep time of grief when he thought
Joseph had been killed. (Gen. 44:15-34)
For Judah to reach the level of maturity he showed in the
things that took place in Egypt, at some point made the life changing decision
to become a servant of God. He could not have shown such a willingness to
sacrifice himself without the love of God living within him.
We have all made mistakes for which we are truly sorry and
are thankful for God’s forgiveness. Like Judah we are to grow from those
experiences and have a desire to be a stronger and wiser disciple of Christ.
Jacob in his last blessing to his sons, clearly identified
the characteristics that were operative in their lives and what it portended
for each of their families in the future. What they were was going to affect
what the future held for each of them. In a way it was a defining moment for
each of them based on past decisions and actions. Let us take a looked at how
Jacob viewed each of his sons. I will focus on five of them. Those brothers
would play a significant role in the future of Israel. Although all twelve
would become the patriarchs of the tribes not much was written of them in the
Scriptures.
- Reuben- Although he was the oldest lost the blessing
to Joseph and the leadership role to Judah because of his uncontrolled behavior
having slept with one of Jacob’s wives. He would not be preeminent
- Simeon- Had a violent nature. Both he and his
cohort in crime were men full of anger and self-will. His family would not have
an inheritance they could call their own but be dispersed in the midst of the
land given to the tribe of Judah.
- Levi- Because of his alliance with Simeon he
would not have an inheritance but would be scattered throughout the land that
would be given to Israel. This prophecy became true as the Levi’s descendants
through Aaron would become the priests and located in cities given to them
throughout Israel.
- Judah- One who was praised by his brothers.
Although, Joseph received the blessing. The kingly line came through him. Eventually he would be the ancestor of the
Messiah.
- We cannot
leave Genesis without looking into the life of Joseph and seeing how the events
in his life shaped the kind of man he became. God still uses men like Joseph in
every aspect of the world today. Many will have and are suffering in much the
same ways as Joseph did. We will begin at the same place of his interaction
with Judah. It is interesting how their lives were connected at the beginning
and the end of the narrative found in Genesis. As with Judah there were events
in his life that were completely out of Joseph’s hands but were critical in
shaping the kind of man he became.
Like Joseph no man may know when those events
might occur that bring about major changes the direction of his or her
life. There may be a decision that you
have been thinking about but putting off because of circumstances Your thoughts may be on a job change, getting
married, making a move to a new location, or mending some fences with
someone. It could be the ultimate
decision of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ.
There is not a single one of us who
have not made choices that have impacted our lives for good or bad, success or
failure. I don’t know if any of you are
familiar with what I would call a decision tree used in witnessing tools like
Continuing Witness Training (CWT) or Evangelism Explosion (EE). It is also used in certain sales training. It goes something like this. For every yes or no answer there is a certain
path you take until you get to the next yes or no answer. This continues until either, a sale is made,
or someone accepts Christ, or you can see that any further conversation is
useless.
History is full of examples of
those who came to that turning point when they went down a path that led them
to being part of our world. I think of
those men who have brought about great destruction and oppression like
Stalin
Hitler
Marx
Lenin
At the opposite end of the spectrum
we find
Billy Graham
Charles Colson
And many others we could name.
Even churches arrive at a defining
moment, when the decisions made could possibly affect how it is to minister in
particular community, whether it will grow and be healthy or become another
statistic.
Of course, in each of our lives
there are some things over which we have no control. Things like our relatives
Where we live in our early lives
Even what we wear
And what we are made to eat
For a while we are pretty much at
the mercy of what others see as beneficial for us.
Later as we grow, the decisions we
make have greater consequences than whether we eat green peas and oatmeal. These are what I call critical moments or
turning points. Even those which we do
not think as important may impact our health and happiness.
I would like for us to look at the life of
Joseph who ultimately would hold the future of the nation in his hands.
Let us start with some of the
things that were decided for him.
- His
family. Father, Jacob; Mother, Rachel,
one brother and nine half-brothers and one half-sister
- His
father’s relationship with him and his brothers. (Gen. 37: 3)
- The
hatred and jealousy his brothers had towards him because of the bad report he
gave his father concerning them. (Gen. 37:2
4.
The fact he was his father’s favorite. (Gen. 37:3)
- His dreams (Gen. 37:5-10)
- Action
taken by his brothers against Joseph.
a. Threw him in a well.
b. Planned to him
c. Sold him to Ishmaelites (Gen
37:26-28
- Became
a slave in Potiphar’s household. (Gen. 39: 1-6)
- Thrown
into prison wrongly charged by Potiphar’s wife. (Gen 39:20)
With the decision to sell Joseph,
his life would be altered in way of which he would have never dreamed could
happen to him. No longer would he be in
the protective environment under the watchful loving care of Jacob. He was thrusted into the strange and new
world of Egyptian culture. It would be a
place totally unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Before we look at the rest of the
story it is critical for us to understand that it is not always the situation
in which we find ourselves that is the measure of the maturity of a person but
how we react to what is happening to us.
Joseph from the very beginning had two options. He could have become
bitter and uncooperative. He chose the
better path of working as to the Lord and not to man. (Eph 4) This turned out
to his benefit because the Lord blessed him in every place in which he found
himself.
During his sojourn in Potiphar’s
household there came the critical moment when he would make a decision that
would change everything for him. We read
about it in Gen. 39: 7-12. These verses
show the real test of Joseph’s faith and character. It would have been so easy to have started a
relationship with Potiphar’s wife which in the short term may have been
beneficial to his success. Sooner or
later Potiphar probably would have discovered their little secret and Joseph
would have been executed. By staying
true to God
in the face of such a great
temptation he may have landed him in jail for a while, but God was still
working out His purpose for the Israelites through Joseph. As it is said about Moses in the book of
Hebrews “by faith Moses when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill treatment with the people of
God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of
Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.” (Hebrews 11:24-26) That statement
could have also been attributed to Joseph.
It seems such an injustice for a
person of Joseph’s high moral character to be put into prison. As strange as it may appear, this too was all
in God’s plan for him and God’s chosen people.
We need to take note here that the jail where Joseph was incarcerated
was where Pharaoh’s prisoners were detained. (Gen 39:19-20)
His decision to stay true to God
resulted in Joseph being put in charge of all the others in the part of the
jail where he stayed. Here was the one
jailed being given the keys to the vault.
Eventually in his position he came into contact with Pharaoh’s cupbearer
and baker. (Gen. 40:1-4)
Joseph combines the best of the choleric and
melancholy types of personalities. On
the choleric side he displays the drive and passion to face the difficulties
and the changing environments in which he found himself. His decisions were based for the most part on
his relationship and trust in God. Even
though he was a take-charge type of person he learned the art of being gentle
and caring for those with whom he came in contact. The other part of his personality showed up
in his ability to analyze situations with great clarity.
His life seems to be divided into
four different periods depending on the events surrounding him. We first heard about him as an immature 17-year-old
who bragged to his brothers about dreams he had. In these dreams his brothers and other family
members would eventually bow down before him. (Gen. 37:5,9) Of course this did
not set well with them. This led, along
with other family situations for them to first begin hating him, then wanting
to kill him and then actually selling him to some Midianites on the way to
Egypt. (Gen. 37)
We next find him in Egypt in the home of Potiphar where he begins to
show his potential. The Scriptures tell
us that, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man.” (Gen. 39:2)
It goes on to say, “Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal
servant, and Potiphar made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned
he put in his charge.” (Gen. 39:4)
The next episode finds Joseph in
prison. He was put there, not for
anything that he did, but that he remained true to his commitment to God. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him
several times, he continually refused saying, “How could I do this great evil
and sin against God.” (Gen. 39:9) Potiphar’s wife eventually accused him of
sexual abuse. This landed him in
jail. Even there, God was with him,
therefore he found favor in the eyes of the jailer. The chief jailer put him in charge of all of
the prisoners that led to his encounter with the cupbearer to Pharaoh, which
led him to the next important step in his life.
It is there we see Joseph come to full maturity.
Joseph spent two years in jail
before being called by Pharaoh to interpret two dreams. It turns out that only
Joseph I was able to tell the Pharaoh the meaning of those dreams. He spelled out to him a clear and concise the
message from God of what Egypt would be facing for the next fourteen
years. Based on this information Joseph laid
out a strategy for the Pharaoh, which allowed for Egypt to persevere through
the tough time in their history. There
is a telling statement by Pharaoh to show what God had done in Joseph’s life
during the 13 refining years he had spent in Egypt. “He said, “Can we find a man like this, in
whom is a divine spirit?” (Gen. 41:38) Pharaoh then said, “See I have set you
over all the land of Egypt.” (Gen.
41:41)
Joseph was put into the position,
not only to save Egypt but, to bring about the salvation of Israel. For seven years he administered the strategy
that he had shared with the Pharaoh.
When the famine came there was plenty food in Egypt because of the job
Joseph had done. The land of Canaan
where Jacob was living was going to be affected by the famine that occurred in
Egypt.
The second trip by the brothers revealed the true heart of
Joseph. With a perfect opportunity for revenge he showed great mercy in
forgiving what his brothers had done to him. Of all the defining moments his
declaration to the twelve men before him may have been his greatest. He said to
them concerning their treatment of him. In verse 5 of chapter 45 he said, “Now
do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God
sent me here before you to preserve life.” In verses 7 and 8 he said, “God sent
me here before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you
alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here,
but God.” Following the two trips that
Joseph’s brothers made to Egypt. Joseph
was successful in bringing Jacob and his family to Egypt for their survival,
where Jacob lived out the rest of his life. After his father’s death Joseph was
presented with another opportunity recompence his brothers. They had great fear
that he might do just that and came to him with a plea for forgiveness. Once
again Joseph showed his character by sharing with them his view of what life
had handed him. He stated to them that he had no desire to punish them. He
understood that what had happened was according to a plan by God that was
bigger and more far reaching than any of them could comprehend. He made a
statement and also asked them a question to which the answer should have been
obvious by then. He said, “Do not be afraid,
for am I in God’s place”? He, with that
question relinquished any right to judge them or take revenge. With regard to
reason he had been brought into Egypt he did say, “As for you, you meant evil
against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present
result, to preserve many people alive. (Gen. 50:19-20)