“Saw It Coming”

May 3, 2024

May 3, 2024

Read Deuteronomy 17, Psalm 148, Acts 26

Have you ever been in a situation where you saw something coming. I’m not saying you had a vision or that you are a prophet, but your wisdom and experience allowed you to see what was lying ahead. Maybe it was something you were going to go through or maybe you saw a family or someone you loved headed in a direction that was not good? What did you do? Did you try and stop the person from going through it?

In Deuteronomy 17 we find a passage where God tries to warn the nation of Israel about their future kings and leaders. “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers” vv. 14-15. Moses continues to give them details about the future kings. “The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold” vv. 16-17. God warned the people to keep the king humble and not allow him to gain wealth and multiple wives. Is anyone else thinking of a certain king who fit this description? Solomon comes to mind for me.

Even further God tells the Israelites that the king must keep a copy of God’s Law with them and read it regularly. “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel” vv. 18-20.

This is great advice for us today. If we find ourselves in a place of power and authority. We must remain humble and keep ourselves from being distracted by other things. We must remain faithful in reading and digesting God’s Word so that we will stay inside God’s blessings for our lives.

What else do you see in these chapters? What repeated words, phrases, or themes do you find here?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“God Bless You! …Eh Maybe Not.”

January 31, 2024

January 31, 2024

Read Genesis 49-50, Exodus 1, Psalm 31

Have you ever had someone tell you that they were going to do you a favor and it ended up not being a favor? Maybe it ended up costing you money, time, or something worse. Maybe you were called into a meeting that you assumed would be a good meeting and it turned out the exact opposite. In Genesis 49 Israel realizes he is about to die. He calls for all twelve of his sons to gather. “Gather round so that I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come” v. 1. This is usually the tie when a father would bless his children and give them some final instructions and encouragement. This is not the case with Israel here. One by one, Israel tells each son what will happen with them in the future in a prophetic manner. It starts with Rueben the oldest and sounds good until he tells him “Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it” v. 4. If you remember, from Genesis 35 Reuben slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah. Next come Simeon and Levi, they are chastised for their violence and actions they took against Shechem and the men of his village. Judah is the first to receive praise from his father. Judah acted noble toward his brothers and especially with how they treated Joseph. On it goes down the list, some good and some bad. The brothers face the consequences of their previous actions from years ago. Right or wrong, Israel remembered the things that each of them did. Let this serve as a warning to all of us that our actions carry weight, and they are not often forgotten. We may receive forgiveness and move on in life, but some things are hard to forget.

What else do you see in these chapters? What repeated words, phrases, themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Emotions”

January 26, 2024

January 26, 2024

Read Genesis 34-36, Psalm 26

Are you someone who thinks through things before you act or do you tend to react to things quickly or with more emotions than careful thought? In Genesis 34 we have some of this going on with Jacob’s family. The lone female born to Jacob from his 4 wives is Dinah. Dinah is raped by Shechem, but also falls in love with her afterward. Shechem’s father Hamor seeks out Jacob for a marriage arrangement between the two. About this time the eleven sons of Jacob find out what has happened, and they devise a plan. Jacob’s sons tell Hamor that it would not be proper to wed Shechem with Dinah because none of the Shechemites have been circumcised. Hamor convinces all the men of their town to circumcise themselves so that they can possibly intermarry with Jacob and their family. While the men are still recovering Simeon and Levi take their opportunity and go to the town and kill all the men for retribution against their sister. In this narrative Jacob seems rather neutral and cares little about his daughter Dinah. This is not the case for her brothers. They take the opposite approach and turn this evil deed into a mass killing of the Shechemites. Only then does Jacob seem to care about what the boys have done, because it may fall back on him. “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed’” v. 30.

God gives us our emotions, they are not wrong to have, but sometimes they can get the better of us. Sometimes we do not act on them when we should. We should learn not to act on all the emotions we have. If we did that, we might find ourselves in trouble. Like Jacob, if he had acted in some way to what happened to Dinah maybe his sons would not have overreacted. If you struggle with making emotional decisions maybe you should come up with a plan to slow down before you act.  Give yourself a 10-minute rule to respond to a text if you are tempted to reply in anger or maybe you sleep on a decision before you make an impulsive one that could cost you dearly.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Do Hard Things”

January 25, 2024

January 25, 2024

Read Genesis 31-33, Psalm 25

What are some of the hardest things you have ever had to face? Was it a difficult course in school, a circumstance or relationship you had to endure? Maybe it was something physical like competing in a race or competition. As you read these three chapters in Genesis you pick up the theme of conflict. The tension between Jacob and Laban and again between Jacob and his brother Esau were probably not the most fun things that Jacob looked forward to. Jacob had served Laban for 20 years and apparently Laban was not the nice uncle that everyone loves at family gatherings. God told Jacob it was time to go and that’s what he did. He may not have handled it in the best way, but we do not know all the details that Jacob faced. God intervened and stopped Laban from taking matters in his own hands. “I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” v. 29.

In Genesis 32 this whole idea of struggling comes to a head when Jacob wrestles with God. All his life has been surrounded with fighting and struggle. His struggle from birth with Esau, His struggle with Laban, and now he wrestles with a man we later discovery is God. In the struggle, God changes his name from Jacob to Israel. “Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome” v. 28. The name Israel means he struggles with God. After this point Israel over comes the struggle and his life is much different than it was before. Finally meeting his brother Esau again, there is no more strife between the brothers even though Israel has his doubts.

What else do you see in these chapters? What repeated words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Write your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon