Isaac’s life overlapped with Shem’s, a survivor of the deluge, for fifty years. One can imagine how Shem might have strengthened Abraham’s and Isaac’s faith in Jehovah’s prophecies and power to save.
La vida de Isaac coincidió con la de Sem, sobreviviente del gran diluvio, por 50 años. Uno pudiera imaginarse cómo tal vez Sem fortaleció la fe de Abrahán e Isaac en las profecías y el poder salvador de Jehová.
Category Archives: Genesis
Genesis, chapters 47-50
On his deathbed, Jacob passed down the birthright of preserving the Messiah’s lineage to the eldest of his sons who did not sin against him.
The lion and the scepter represent the right to rule as king, and Shi’loh refers to the then unborn Messiah.
This is a noteworthy prophecy because as we now know, King David proceeded from the tribe of Judah and Jesus’ ancestry was traceable to David on both his parents’ sides (2 Sam. 2:4; 2 Sam. 7:16,17; Matt. 1:1-16; 3:23-33).
Jesus asked us to pray for that kingdom to come: “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth.” (Matt. 6:9,10).
After his death, Jesus’ followers expected him to one day begin ruling from heaven:
“God resurrected this Jesus, and of this we are all witnesses […] For David did not ascend to the heavens, but he himself says, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet,”’ (Acts 2:32-35).
This in turn makes reference to Jesus’ first act as king: to do God’s will in heaven, that is, to throw out God’s enemies from it (Rev. 12:7-12).
Then the prophecy refers to us, saying: “the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing that he has a short period of time.”
It might take thousands of years for God’s prophecies to come to full light, but they are always fulfilled unfailingly.
Genesis, chapters 43-46
Israel’s household went from being on the verge of dying of starvation to living in the most abundant environment available at the time.
This reminds me of the spiritual abundance God’s people enjoy nowadays.
We live in a world that is spiritually deprived.
Although religion is everywhere, most people wonder where God is and they are not sure he listens to them or how to draw close to him.
Some go so far as to try to experience spirituality through fleshly conducts such as drugs or sex.
When some of my friends have participated witnessing in the streets, pastors from other churches have come up to them and asked them for our literature because they do not know what to teach their followers.
It is a blessing to be a part of God’s people- an organization that provides spiritual food in abundance.
This “food” comes in the form of answers to both basic and deep questions:
Why is there so much suffering?
This spiritual abundance is reminiscent of other Bible prophecies:
‘Look! The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah,
‘When I will send a famine into the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
Genesis, chapters 40-42
By the time the prisoner, Joseph, was brought before Pharaoh to interpret the meaning of his dreams, he had undergone a series of tragedies:
His mother died when he was a child (Gen. 35:16-19); growing up, his ten brothers bullied him (Gen. 37:4,5,11); they sold him as a slave when he was 17 and his father took him for dead (Gen. 37:28,33); his master’s wife falsely accused him of trying to rape her after he refused her sexual advances, which caused him to be thrown into prison (Gen. 39:12,17-20).
There, he accurately interpreted the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servants, but he was left in prison for three more years (Gen. 40:9-14, 20-23).
Joseph was finally brought before Pharaoh at the age of 30 and received prophetic insight into the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams (seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine) (Gen. 41:25-32).
Of course, now we’ve all heard of him and how he forgave his brothers and saved his family, but at the time Joseph stated the words I cited at the beginning, “I need not be considered! God will speak concerning Phar′aoh’s welfare,” he had every reason on earth to be bitter and resentful.
Joseph’s faith is what sustained him through all his trials and even when finally given the chance to state his case and glorify himself, he still channeled all praise and glory to God.
This is definitely one of the greatest examples humanity has to offer of how faith and virtue lead to true success.
Genesis, chapters 36-39
Then Judah examined them and said: “She is more righteous than I am…”
Judah was pretty set on executing his twice-widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar, when he found out she had prostituted herself (Gen. 38:24).
After her second husband died, he deceitfully promised her she could marry his third son once he was old enough (Gen. 38:11).
This was a common Hebrew practice, termed “brother-in-law marriage,” realized to preserve the first husband’s lineage (Gen. 38:8; Deut. 25:5,6). This arrangement also served to provide materially for women who otherwise might end up in dire poverty.
But when Judah’s son came of age, Judah was afraid he would also die so he did not keep his promise to Tamar.
When she realized she had been lied to, she disguised herself as a prostitute and had sexual relations with Judah, who by then was also a widow (Gen. 38:14-16).
Tamar was cunning enough to ask him for some of his personal belongings which she later used to hold him accountable for his actions (Gen. 38:18,25).
The lesson I wish to point out is that although Judah had acted shamefully, he readily admitted he had been wrong.
Judah was a prominent man, eventually receiving his father’s blessing. This was a privilege since only one of his father’s 12 sons could become an ancestor to the Messiah (Gen. 49:10).
Even so, he did not use his influence to hide his error or to crush the woman who brought it to light, thus setting an example for future leaders who likewise make grave mistakes.
Genesis, chapters 32-35
E′sau ran to meet him, and he embraced him and kissed him, and they burst into tears.
When Esau last saw Jacob, he had plans to kill him (Gen. 27:41).
20 Years later, as described in the above passage, his heart has been softened.
He has taken on a more spiritual approach to life.
This teaches me that people can change for the better.
It is wrong to give up hope on someone without giving them time to reflect on their own actions and see the negative consequences of their bad decisions.
Usually it’s those closest to us that let us down. A family member or a best friend who was like a sister or brother.
God doesn’t give up on people from one moment to the next. He patiently waits for them to repent (2 Pet. 3:9).
And if we want to truly change, then it is imperative to ‘clothe ourselves in humility,’ as in the case of Esau (Col. 3:12).
I had never taken this passage into account.
According to a Bible encyclopedia, Deborah lived for about another 125 years after Rebekah and Isaac married (it-1 p. 600).
She had left everything behind to accompany Rebekah south into a new family and new lifestyle, for Isaac’s household dwelt in tents.
In all this time she became a part of their family and they were moved to heartfelt grief upon her death.
I am touched by the inclusion of this small but telling detail in the Holy Scriptures.
In a book that selectively lists ancestries and important dates to provide historical proof and context, the fact that God included this about Deborah, a humble servant, tells us how much he values the lives of those who render sacred service toward Him (Matt. 10:29-31).
Genesis, chapters 29-31
This is a point a couple friends of mine made:
Young people shouldn’t be in a hurry to start dating or to find “the right person” because true love is patient and if two people really love each other, it doesn’t matter how long it takes them to wind up together, they are willing to wait.
And so the race for who could bare the most children begun, for somehow Jacob, who had originally set out to marry Rachel, wound up with 4 wives.
(If you are unfamiliar with the story, what happened is that Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah. He signed up to work another 7 years to get permission to marry Rachel. Rachel was barren and so she gave him her servant to have kids in lieu of her. Leah didn’t want to be left behind so she also gave Jacob her own servant. {Gen. 29:25-27; Gen. 30:3,4; Gen. 30:9}).
The point I want to highlight is that even today, women seem to be under this false illusion that if they have a man’s child or children, he will automatically love her, as if there were something someone could do to project love out of someone else.
In this case I am referring to romantic love.
But, as we saw from the first passage, love is something that flows naturally from one’s self. It cannot be forced or shut off or transferred into a third person.
A lot of women today, especially in my own Latin culture, get themselves pregnant hoping this way their boyfriends will want to marry them.
That is not how love or marriage works. These relationships tend to fall apart within the first ten years leaving deep emotional and financial scars.
On an opposite note, Genesis 30, verses 1 and 2, read:
Even when you are deeply in love with someone, this doesn’t mean you will be in perfect synchronization or pure bliss, or that you will never need to confront their flaws.
On occasion it will be entirely normal to “flare up in anger” and argue, because we are all imperfect and different.
That doesn’t nullify or subtract from true love in any way. True love endures and becomes more refined.
The moral of all this:
One wife is more than enough. 😉
Genesis, chapters 25-28
Last week’s reading taught me about resolving conflicts through faith and mildness.
In Genesis ch. 26 verses 16 & 17, we see how the Philistines grow afraid of Isaac due to his ever-growing prosperity and so their king asks him to leave.
As Isaac’s servants are working hard digging up his fathers’ old wells which the Philistines had stopped up, they find a new well.
Isaac decides to move on and they look for another well.
Again, instead of arguing with the Philistines, Isaac moves his men elsewhere. This time he is successful.
As a result, the Philistine king who had kicked him out now seeks him out to form a pact of peace between them.
Isaac’s mildness is blessed again as while this is happening, his servants find yet another well.
From this I see that when we make a genuine effort to foment peaceful relations with others, even when we know we are right and they are wrong, God does not abandon us and continues providing for our needs.
Genesis, chapters 21-24
This passage is about Rebekah and the time Abraham’s servant traveled approximately 500 miles (800 km) to meet someone like her.
Earlier, Abraham’s servant had prayed to Jehovah God that the woman who might offer him a drink of water and also water his camels should be the woman divinely indicated to marry Abraham’s son, Isaac (Gen. 24:12-14).
Rebekah was unaware of this prayer when she carried out this laborious yet hospitable task.
She was also unaware that the man was a servant of Abraham, a relative of hers. This would make him a worshiper of the same deity as her family’s.
What struck me as interesting though is that Rebekah herself had servants- at least two (Gen. 24:61).
Even so, she was not stuck-up or lazy. She carried her own weight and had a kind serving attitude toward others.
Certainly she deserved to partake in the divine covenants, as she was a fine example of what a potential wife should look like.
I want to include this other point because I recently read a series of articles that talked about forced marriage of women, often times minors, and how their families go so far as killing them when the brides refuse to uphold the arrangements.
It is striking that around 4,000 years ago women like Rebekah who belonged to her culture enjoyed a right denied to some modern women today.
Genesis, chapters 17-20
The point I’d like to highlight from my reading last week is the story of Lot as related in Genesis ch. 19.
Lot did not have an easy life. His is basically a riches to rags story.
In ch. 13 we see he is so financially prosperous that he needs to separate his livestock and herders from Abraham’s in order to conserve the peace between the two households.
However in ch. 14 he and his entire household are kidnapped.
By the time we get to ch. 19, he is living among the lawless people in the insecure town of Sodom.
When two angels come to avert him of the oncoming destruction, he goes to warn his daughters’ fiances who do not take him seriously (Gen. 19:14).
His wife evidently has a predominantly materialistic inclination, which ends up costing her her life (Gen. 19:26).
And once they are “out of danger” dwelling in a cave, his daughters get him drunk and rape him (Gen. 19:30, 33-35).
Even though Lot was not respected by those around him, 2 Peter 2:7-9 demonstrates he had God’s approval by qualifying him as someone “righteous” and as having “godly devotion.”
This demonstrates that the hardships we face in our lives are not an indication of God’s neglecting us, but rather opportunities for us to exercise our faith in him.
Bible Reading Highlights 