January 11 / Genesis 27-31

Having tricked his brother into giving him his birthright, and his father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn son, Jacob gets what he wants but earns the hatred of his twin brother Esau, who plans to kill him. Tipped off by his co-conspiring mother, Jacob flees to uncle Laban until everything cools down.

Clearly, Jacob has a long way to go before he becomes a man of faith and character. But God begins working on him by both revelation and renewal of the Promise. God reveals himself to Jacob in a dream of a “stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.” (Genesis 28:12)

In the dream, Jacob sees God at the top of the stairway. He identifies himself as “the Lord, the God your grandfather, Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac.” The third generation of the Promise has begun, and accordingly, God renews his covenant promise with Jacob. Jacob learns by this unusual dream, and by the covenant renewal, that God is always working on earth to bring about his Promise to bless the nations.

January 10 / Genesis 25-26

In chapter 25, the torch is passed. The important second generation of the Promise begins: “Abraham lived for 175 years, and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long, satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death.” (Genesis 25:7)

We might wonder whether God chose Abraham from among his countryman because he was special in some way, yet we see no evidence of this. It is purely an act of divine election. God chooses Abraham in the same way God determines to create the heavens and earth: out the sheer freedom that comes from being Almighty God. It simply pleased him to do so! There is no reason to try and get into God’s mind, other than to accept to note that what God election is always an expression of his merciful kindness to the world.

There is a note written in my Bible beside Genesis 25:7. It says, “One of the great people of the Bible!” Abraham, with all his faults—and they were many—nevertheless becomes the iconic man of faith in the Bible: “Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6)

The Apostle Paul will point to Abraham as justification for his ministry to the Gentiles, saying that anyone, Jew or Gentile, who has the faith of Abraham, can become a child of God (Galatians 3). So we pay our respects to Abraham, and move on to the story of Isaac and his wife, Rebekah.

 

The account of Isaac and Rebekah only covers a few chapters. The most significant event is the birth of twins, Jacob and Esau. In another act of election, God had already notified Rebekah, “…your older son will serve your younger son” (Genesis 25:23). This goes against tradition, which says that the first born son (the older) will be the son of inheritance. Again, we don’t know why God chooses Jacob over Esau. Perhaps he was exercising his authority over human culture and tradition. Or perhaps he regarded Jacob to be congenitally better suited to lead the third generation.

January 9 / Genesis 21-24

At long last, Abraham’s faith is rewarded and the tension is lifted: Chapter 21 begins, “The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son Isaac…And Sarah declared, ‘God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.”

This time Sarah’s laughter is not the restrained laughter of cynicism but the full-throated laughter of amazement and joy. The angel was right, is anything too hard for God?

Perhaps one reason why God answers our prayers and tests our faith is to keep us engaged in his Big Promise—the plan of Redemption to make things right in heaven and earth.

In Genesis, God’s promise is given momentum by the birth of Isaac. The second generation of the promise will soon begin. Therefore, it’s important to see the priority of Isaac over Ishmael in the story. Isaac is the child of God’s promise to Abraham; Ishmael is the child of Abraham’s impatience and disobedience. So Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, which means, according to Ancient Near Eastern custom, that Ishmael has no legal claim of inheritance. Nevertheless, God will bless Ishmael (Genesis 21:11-21) but God’s promise will continue through Isaac.

January 8 / Genesis 18-20

In chapter 18, three visitors come to Abraham and Sarah. They are recognized by Abraham as being angels from God; perhaps God himself. They have come with three messages for Abraham: First, Sarah will bear a child by him next year; Second, God’s promise that Abraham will become a mighty nation is reaffirmed: Third, Sodom and Gomorrah (where Abraham’s nephew Lot and family are living) will be destroyed.

The first announcement is met with a laugh from Sarah: “So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” (Genesis 18:12)

Circumstances seem to make God’s promise impossible. But, let’s be honest, aren’t we all laughing with Sarah? It seems ridiculous. It simply “ain’t gonna happen!”

Once again we are challenged with the rationality of faith in God: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” the angel asks. (Genesis 18:14) We are left to decide.

The second announcement of the three men is yet another reaffirmation of God’s promise to Abraham (this is the 7th since chapter 12). “…Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations on earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just” (Genesis 18:17-19)

Clearly, Abraham and Sarah are being tested—tested until they giggle! But isn’t that the nature of faith? Until faith is tested, it really isn’t faith at all. Faith only develops when we are willing to trust God’s promises, in the absence of clear evidence, and continue moving forward doing what is right and just.

January 7 / Genesis 1-17

Genesis chapter 16 notes that after many years of waiting for the promise of God to be enacted, Abram still has no son by his wife Sarai. How can he possibly be the father of a great nation? So he decides to go to plan B. At the insistence of Sarai, and in accordance with Ancient Near Eastern practice, Abram is given a substitute wife, Hagar, and she bears him a son named Ishmael.

Yeah, Abram is pathetic, but I’m sympathetic. Time and disappointment can grind down even the most faithful. Abram wasn’t so much disobeying God as giving God a hand. After all, Abram is almost 100 years old, and Sarai is in her 90’s. Maybe God overreached in his promise? God helps them that help themselves, right?

Well, Abram helped himself to Hagar and, predictably, all kinds of bad things followed (Genesis 16).

In the meantime God reveals himself to Abraham once again, this time as El-Shaddai—God Almighty. By this self-revelation, God reminds Abram that he hasn’t forgotten his promise. Furthermore, if he was mighty enough to create the universe, he was certainly mighty enough to make Sarai pregnant. But Abram laughs at the ridiculous mental picture of a pregnant 90 year old. Awkward! 

January 6 / Genesis 15-17

God’s promise to bless the world through Abram gets off to an unremarkable start. Abram tries to protect his own hide by pawning off his wife as his sister (a half-truth) and then has to negotiate with his nephew, Lot, about where to graze their respective herds (Lot chooses first and takes the best land). Thanks a lot!

Sigh.

Lot settles near the city of Sodom, a city with (shall we say) an active social life. It turns out badly for him. He gets caught up in some local conflict between rival kings and is taken captive. Abram is forced to get involved. He assembles 318 trained fighters and rescues Lot. It seems that God’s promise to make Abram a great nation with a great mission is not going to be easy.

But in chapter 15, God reassures Abram: “Do not be afraid Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great,” (Genesis 15:1). Abram expresses a concern that his wife Sarai has not born him a son. This of course is a threat to God’s promise that Abram will be the father of a great nation. So God has Abram look up into the night sky and count the stars, saying: “That’s how many descendants you will have!”

In response to this object lesson, Abram has one of his best moments—a moment that resonates throughout the Old and New Testaments as a clear statement of the gospel: “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.” (Genesis 15:6)

This verse helps us understand how God can use an imperfect man like Abram to bring about his good purposes. Abram is counted as “righteous,” not because he is worthy (he clearly is not) but because he has faith in God who declares him worthy. Little does Abram know, as he stares into the night sky, counting stars, that about two thousand years later, a descendant with his DNA will die on a cross to make atonement for his (and our) sins.

As Tim Keller explains the gospel: “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

Prayer: Lord, it is as if the weight of the world is lifted off our shoulders! How wonderful to know that we are loved and accepted by you because of Christ and despite our sinfulness. I will rejoice in this good news, and seek to share it with others. Amen!

January 5 /Genesis 12-14

As we come to Genesis chapter 12, God’s long term plan to redeem humanity and restore the creation is coming into focus. He will establish a particular nation, Israel, to whom he will reveal himself in special ways, and through whom he will reintroduce himself to the fallen human race. Memory of the one true God has dimmed and human imagination has retreated into idolatry and myth.

So, just as God chose Noah to reestablish the human race after the flood judgment, now he chooses a man named Abram (later renamed Abraham). Genesis 11 connects Noah to Abram by another genealogy, and then chapter 12 introduces the story of Abram. God’s promise to Abram is a key moment in the Bible’s story:

“The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-3)