Quick Note: Genesis 37:3 – A Seal of Approval and Condemnation

Genesis 37:3 – “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age.  And he made him a robe of many colors.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 – “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”

When you go to a special party or convention or anything of that sort, if you are one of the exclusive VIP guests, they usually give you something special to wear like a wristband or a pin that will indicate that you are one of the “select.”  I know that when I attended a comic convention a while back, I was given a shirt to wear during my work to indicate that I was a volunteer.  That one shirt set me apart from others and let me into places the regular attendees could not go.  It was like a badge that indicated my affiliation and the perks and responsibilities that came with it.

In our first passage today in Genesis, Jacob gave his favorite son, a robe of many colors, so that all who saw him wear it would know that he was considered the favorite.  It was like a badge of approval and love and acceptance.  Although this robe was a symbol of great honor to Joseph, it was also a symbol of disregard and unappreciation to his brothers, for they did not receive that “favorite son” robe.  It was a symbol of acceptance but also condemnation to the others.  Our second passage in Ephesians reminds us as Christians that we have also been given a “seal of approval, acceptance, and honor” in that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  Every believer, once they have given their lives to Christ, receives the Holy Spirit into their lives to guide and lead them and most importantly mark them for salvation.  But at the same time, this great seal is also a seal of condemnation to those who do not have it, for they who do not have that mark will eventually be condemned in the judgment.  Like Joseph’s robe, the Holy Spirit is a mark of acceptance for Christians but also a mark of condemnation to unbelievers.  But unlike Joseph’s robe, this seal is open for everyone to receive.  All one needs to do is place their faith and trust in Him.

If you are already wearing the robe of the Holy Spirit, then take joy and pride in the beautiful robe you are wearing.  Live it out and show that you have been given such a beautiful and gracious gift.  And remember that that robe you wear comes with the responsibility of living your life for Him.  If you have not yet put that robe on, then today, make the decision to give your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit will be given to you too.

Quick Note: Genesis 35:16-21 – Comfort in the Midst of Trial

Genesis 35:16-21 – “¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” ¹⁸ And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. ¹⁹ So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), ²⁰ and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. ²¹ Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.”

Tonight I was watching an episode of one of my favorite TV shows this season, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  The show is about the spies in the Marvel universe.  One of the spies did not know her past and kept searching and probing to find it, but never did until her boss finally tracked down the truth.  When the boss told her the truth, he thought that she would lose her faith in humanity for many people died to protect her, but instead she took comfort, knowing that she was so loved that people were willing to die for her.  She looked at it at a completely different angle, finding comfort where there seemed to be only death.

In our passage today, we have two perspectives to the same event.  Rachel, who was giving birth to her second son, while she lay dying from a hard pregnancy called his name Ben-oni, which means “son of my sorrow.”  On the other hand, Jacob, the father of the child, called him Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.”  Rachel saw the birth of Benjamin, a moment of sadness and death, for she approached death to bring him life.  Jacob, on the other hand, found life in the midst of death, not allowing this traumatizing event to develop hate for his son, but even more love for him, giving him an honored name that recognizes an honored spot (“the right hand” – a seat of prominence).

As Christians, we will be faced with trial after trial, hardship after hardship, but we can always look at it in two ways.  We can either be down and depressed, blaming God for allowing such hardship, or we can find joy and comfort in the midst of it for the Lord will be honored and glorified through it.  Let us seek to draw near to God during these trials instead of away from Him, for He is the God of all comfort.  Let us trust that He will do what is best for us.  Let us take comfort even in the midst of trial.

Quick Note – Genesis 32:22-32 – Humble Yourself Before God

Genesis 32:22-32 – “²² The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. ³⁰ So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” ³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.”

I’m not feeling so well today, so I figured, I would just share with you an interesting thing I read from a commentary today.  It comes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.  The passage is from Genesis 32, which speaks of how Jacob wrestled with God, yet even after wrestling with Him all night, he still came to the same conclusion – that it is by God’s mercy he was preserved.  Jacob, a man who used to be the ultimate deceiver, did not play any tricks, did not act like Loki from Thor; he humbled himself before the great and mighty God, knowing that it is only by His mercy that he lives.  Humble yourself before Him as well.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

7. Jacob gives a new name to the place; he calls it Peniel, the face of God (v. 30), because there he had seen the appearance of God, and obtained the favour of God. Observe, The name he gives to the place preserves and perpetuates, not the honour of his valour or victory, but only the honour of God’s free grace. He does not say, “In this place I wrestled with God, and prevailed;” but, “In this place I saw God face to face, and my life was preserved;” not, “It was my praise that I came off a conqueror, but it was God’s mercy that I escaped with my life.” Note, It becomes those whom God honours to take shame to themselves, and to admire the condescensions of his grace to them. Thus David did, after God had sent him a gracious message (2 Sa. 7:18), Who am I, O Lord God? ^[1]

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^[1] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (72). Peabody: Hendrickson.

Quick Note: Genesis 27:36b-38 – The Greatest Blessing

Genesis 27:36b-38 – “…Then he said, ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’  Isaac answered and said to Esau, ‘Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servant, and with grain and wine I have sustained him.  What then can I do for you, my son?’  Esau said to his father, ‘Have you but one blessing, my father?  Bless me, even me also, O my father.’  And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.” 

Have you ever seen the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie?  There was a scene in that movie, where Dave, the man who found and took care of the chipmunks, bought a Christmas gift for his three “boys.”  What he bought them was something a real parent would give to his children – investment bonds.  He was thinking about their future and caring for them just like a real parent would.  Of course, like children during Christmas, they were quite disappointed with their gift.  On the other hand, their manager brought them a bag full of toys and goodies; so many toys and goodies that the chipmunks completely ignored their gift from Dave.  They lost sight of a true blessing and instead were enamored with the temporary toys.

When I was much younger, during a Christmas many years back, I remember also having that same attitude with a Christmas gift my parents gave me.  My parents bought me a really nice digital camera so that I could learn to shoot, but I had only wanted some new trading cards for my trading card game collection.  When I saw that camera, I was really disappointed, since I didn’t get the toy I wanted.  But years later, when I learned to shoot, I was grateful that I had such a camera.  That one gift trained me to the point, where I now love photography and have even won an award that got one of my pictures posted on a cruise ship (“Royal Princess”).  On that Christmas day, I didn’t appreciate the true blessing I had and would have done anything to trade it for the temporary printed cardboard that I wanted, but now, I know that I had actual received a greater gift and blessing.

Interestingly, the Bible tells the story of a person who also desired a temporary blessing so much that he forgot about an even more important blessing.  Genesis 27 tells the story of how Jacob, the eventual father of the twelve tribes of Israel, deceived his father Isaac and took the blessing that was meant for his brother Esau.  Under his mother Rebekah’s direction, he dressed up like Esau and convinced Isaac to give him the blessing instead of his brother in the suggestion that he was actually his brother.  In that blessing, he received everything from abundant harvests to rule over his brothers.  When his brother Esau returned and asked for his father’s blessing, to both of their surprise, the blessing had been given to the wrong person, Jacob.  This information sets the background for our passage today, where Esau asks his father if there is another blessing for him.  If we look carefully at the blessings that Isaac had given Jacob in vss. 27-29, we see that Jacob was given the blessing of bountiful harvests in both grain and wine (vs. 27-28), lordship over nations (vs. 29), lordship over his brothers (vs. 29), and the awesome blessing of “Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

“See, the smell of my son

is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!

²⁸    May God give you of the dew of heaven

and of the fatness of the earth

and plenty of grain and wine.

²⁹    Let peoples serve you,

and nations bow down to you.

Be lord over your brothers,

and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you,

and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

Although these blessings of power, fame, and fortune sound great and all-encompassing, Isaac left a specific greater blessing out – the blessing of Abraham – the blessing that God gave to Abraham and to Isaac and eventually to Jacob in Genesis 28 – the covenantal blessing of Abraham that ensured that his offspring would be multiplied, that his offspring would inherit Canaan, and that his offspring would be a source of blessing to all the nations of the earth (the promise of the Messiah coming from that lineage).  This blessing was not given in the verses above, yet you don’t even see Esau mentioning it, when Isaac said, “What then can I do for you, my son?”  It was clear that this blessing had not been given out (“I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servant, and with grain and wine I have sustained him.”), but Esau never asks for it.  It is true that this blessing was not Isaac’s to give, for only God could establish this covenant, but Esau could have asked for it.  He could have shown a desire for it.  He had no excuse of not knowing about it or having it emphasized, for Isaac must have mentioned it quite often while sojourning in that land.  Esau just forgot about it in light of losing the temporary blessings of power, fame, and fortune.  He lost sight of the greatest blessing of the covenant of Abraham as he only desired these temporary blessings.

We, as Christians, tend to do the same thing in our lives; we lose sight of things which have eternal value in the light of the temporary things of this earth.  Why do you think Christ emphasized that His disciples could not serve both God and Mammon in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:24)?  We ask God for more money, higher career positions, and even more recognition in ministry but fail to ask for a closer walk with Him.  We need to start seeking the ultimate blessing of God Himself instead of all the things He could give us.  We must stop seeking the temporary blessings of this earth like money, houses, and cars and instead invest in things of eternal value like souls.  We must stop seeking fulfillment in relationships, friendships, and even familial relations and instead seek to build our relationship with God.  We must stop seeking the applause of men in our careers, hobbies, and sports activities and must instead seek the praise of our Heavenly Father.  All these things on earth are not wrong, but we must never desire it above God.  No one can out give God, so why try to find happiness anywhere else?  Let us remember the great blessing of Christ and a relationship with Him and desire that blessing more than anything else.  There is no greater blessing than Christ.

Quick Note: Genesis 24:12, 15 – God’s Working Even Behind the Scenes

Genesis 24:12, 15 – “And he said, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham’…Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.”

Being that the Christmas season just finished a few weeks ago and for some cultures only a few days ago, this illustration is not too hard to grasp.  During Christmas time, young children petition their parents for toys and gifts that they have been longing for throughout the year.  They mention what they would want for Christmas over and over, in hopes, that mom and dad will have that gift wrapped and lying underneath the Christmas tree.  They will beg and plead and do whatever needs to be done to get the assurance that they will have what they want on that Christmas morn, and if there is no inclination that they will receive what they want, then a sad countenance is upon their face all the way till Christmas day.  The funny thing is that usually the parents have already bought that toy months in advance and have kept it hidden in the closet until that day.  Instead of taking joy in the season, knowing that their parents will do and give what is best for them, they will live as if it was completely hopeless for them to ever get what they were looking for.  They will live their next few days like a pauper when they are already princes.

As Christians, we do a similar thing with God; in that, when we bring our petitions to Him in prayer, if we are not given an answer within our “appointed time,” which is usually right away, then we act as if God will never answer our prayer or do what is best for us.  We will treat the situation as one that is untouched and uncared for by our Heavenly Father above, which is completely untrue.  Even when we do not see or hear or feel like God is working in a situation, He is already moving the dials and cogs and wheels to bring out His best will for us.  Look at our passage today, which speaks of a petition given by Abraham’s servant to God.  This servant was appointed by Abraham to find someone from Abraham’s family who he could bring back to marry Isaac.  This request would almost be considered hopeless, for the servant was to go back to Abraham’s homeland, find a member of Abraham’s family, and then convince her to return with him to marry a man whom she has never seen or heard of.  How could something like that even happen?  To add to that, the servant made an almost impossible request of God by asking Him to bring about the girl whom he was supposed to bring to Isaac to the well and to fulfill a sign (must offer to water his camels without him asking) that would indicate it was her.  But even at this improbable request, God worked.  God worked even before the request was fully articulated from the servant’s lips – “Before he had finished speaking…”  God was already brining about Rebekah, Abraham’s grandniece, to water and eventually become a wife to Isaac.  It was no coincidence.  It was God working out the answer to the request even before it had been fully stated.  God was listening and responding in faithfulness.

The same goes for us.  Whenever we make a request of God, even before those words drip from our lips, He already knows it.  He knows every need we have, every trouble, and every petition we will bring Him, and the amazing thing is that He is already working out an answer to each one even before we make the request.  That does not mean that we no longer need to pray, for He still desires that we speak to Him and make our requests known; but, it means that we can trust Him to be faithful in answering our prayers and to bring about His will and our best interests.  God is a faithful and loving God who is working behind the scenes even now to answer whatever prayers we have brought Him in the past and will bring Him in the future.  We can trust our omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, loving God to answer our prayers even before we have finished speaking.

*Note:  An answer to our prayers may not always mean getting exactly what we want or how we think it should be.  Sometimes, God’s answers are completely different than what we personally think is best for us; but if we trust in Him, we can be sure that in the end, “All things will work together for good to them that love God…” Romans 8:28.