The Attributes of God:

The Wonder of God’s Plan and Timing Genesis 41-44 “Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.  He named the second Ephraim “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”                   For 13 years, Joseph served as either a slave or in prison in Egypt.  The dreams of being a ruler over his family seemed distant and forgotten.  For Joseph, the dream now was just to get out of the prison and return to a normal life.  Just when it appeared his hope was forgotten, events suddenly changed.                     In the middle of the night, Pharoah, the ruler of the kingdom, had a troubling dream.  He did now the meaning or significance of the dream, o...

Has God Forgotten Genesis 37-40 “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him.”                   Has God forgotten?  That must have been a question that plagued Joseph for 13 years.  It is one thing for man to forget, but does God forget?  The story of Joseph begins with a dream and then seems to end in a nightmare.  In chapter 37, we find Joseph given two dreams that originated from God.  In both dreams, the implication was that Joseph would rise to prominence over his brothers and family.  For a 17-year-old, the dreams must have brought excitement and anticipation that God was blessing and giving him the promise of a prosperous and successful future. However, rather than his brothers accepting the prophecy and encouraging Joseph, they become angry and jealous.  It is bad enough that Joseph seemed blessed by G...

The Exclusive Worship of God. Genesis 33-36 “So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an alter there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”                   From the very beginning of history, God demanded obedience and exclusive worship.  This is a message that we see repeatedly throughout the Scriptures.  To worship other gods is to invite the wrath and judgment of God.  When God codified his moral law in the Ten Commandments, the first three commands focused on the exclusive worship of God. In the third command, God affirms that He is a jealous God.  The jealousy of God points to His intolerance of any competitor, anything or anyone w...

The King of Self and the King of Kings Genesis 29-32 “Jacob said, “O God of my Father Abraham and God of my Father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you, I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and all the faithfulness which you have sown to Your servant…Deliver Me, I pray.” (32:9-11).                              It did not take long for the family blessed by God to descend into a family of dysfunction, hostility, and self-serving manipulators.  When Abraham was promised that his descendants would be the ones through whom God would bless the world, it appeared that His family was sanctioned by God.  However, within one generation, they become marked by inward fighting and hatred.  The rivalry between Jacob and Esau becomes a full-fledged war marked by ...

God’s Sovereignty and Grace  Genesis 25-28 “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants…Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (28:13-15)                   God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.  In chapters 25-28, we see people at their worst.  Instead of acting in faith and trust in God’s plan, they act with deceit, manipulation, and self-interest.  When we first read of Isaac and Rebekah, we see two individuals that God brought together, individuals who trusted God’s control of the circumstances and future of their lives.  But their faith quickly fell victim to their own manipulations and attempts to control the events a...

The God Who Provides Genesis 21-25 “Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘in the mount of the Lord it will be provided.’”                   Is God no better than the gods of the Canaanites who demand human sacrifices before they would bless their followers?  The joy that Abraham felt at the birth of Isaac was soon shattered by the confusion of God’s command.  God commanded Abraham to take his only son, the son of the promise, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. This demand, parallel with the bloodthirsty gods of the Canaanites, could have sent Abraham spiraling downward in a crisis of faith.  Isaac was more than just a son; he was the promised seed, the one through whom God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation.  This demand of God would strike to the core of Abraham’s...