Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. – Genesis 34:13

Today's Scripture Reading (October 15, 2024): Genesis 34

Maybe one of the most common mistakes we make is believing that everyone believes as we believe. Several years ago, I was taking several teens and young adults on a trip to a foreign country, and one of the biggest concerns I had with the group's older members was trying to convince them that not everywhere would they be considered adults. There were people, mostly guys between 18-20 years, who didn't understand that the idea that 18 was the age of majority was not a universal given. Where we were going, the age of majority was 21; by voluntarily leaving our country, we were saying that we would live by the laws of the country we were visiting.

We do the same thing every time we go to any foreign country. It doesn't matter what it is like at home, we have to abide by the laws in place of where we are going. In some places, that means your rights might be curtailed if you are a woman. Breaking traffic laws might end up in jail time instead of a fine. And if you are unwilling to abide by their rules, don't go. But don't expect foreign countries to abide by your expectations of what is right and wrong.

Jacob moved his family into an area where women were property, and men did what they wanted with them. Everything that happened to Dinah seemed to be according to local expectations. That may not be the way it was in Jacob's family or where Jacob and his family had lived before, but it was the way the people lived here. You took what you wanted and then took steps to make it legal, or more precisely, claim it as your property.

This situation has three problems beyond the situation of violence committed against Dinah in the city. First, Jacob does nothing. Jacob knows what has happened, but he doesn't tell his sons; he allows them to find out in their own way. He doesn't take action against the perpetrator; he isn't in discussion with the city; he doesn't have a plan. Jacob does nothing. Maybe he realizes that this is actually on him, that he should have at least had a serious conversation about the dangers of the city with his daughter, but even better, he should never have come here in the first place. But whatever the reason, Jacob remains inactive, and his inactivity gives his sons the impression that the response is up to them.

Second, the brothers are dishonest. They go into the city as if searching for a positive solution to the problem. But that is the farthest thing from their minds. They are looking for blood. We would agree. But that doesn't mean that our response is proper. We have a strange idea of justification. If I am righting a wrong, then whatever I do is acceptable, but that is not true in secular law, let alone sacred law. It is the response that has historically resulted in multiple wrongs and feuds. When we take a wrong and try to correct it by committing a second wrong, we start a chain reaction that will quickly get out of control. And yet that is precisely what the brothers have decided to do.

Lastly, the brothers become committed to a ruse. The suggestion is that if the men of the city will follow Jacob's rules and traditions, the family of Jacob will also follow the rules and traditions of the city. Commit to following our laws, and you will benefit, not just by being able to marry our sister but by becoming economically connected with us. It is a temptation that is much too great for the city not to take advantage. They agreed, making them vulnerable to the evil that Dinah's brothers were about to visit on the city.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 35

He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. – Genesis 33:2

Today's Scripture Reading (October 14, 2024): Genesis 33

Do you have a favorite child? I know, what a question, but you don't have to tell anyone. I don't think I do, but I only have two children. I also have five grandchildren, but the reality is that each one of them is so different that I love something different about every one of them. At the same time, I think through conversations I have had with both my adult children and believe they would say that the other child was my favorite. Which, I hope, means that I got it somewhat right.

If you are wondering if you do have a favorite child, here are some questions to ask yourself. First question: is there one child you talk about more than others? Now, if there is, that does not necessarily mean that you have a favorite child but a child that needs you more than the others. But it might be a hint. Second question: Is there a child with whom you have significantly increased one-on-one interaction? Again, there can be some harmless reasons for this, such as if one child lives closer to you than the others, but it is another warning sign.

A third question might be, is there one child for whom some family rules don't apply? You can be a disciplinarian with some of your kids, but one is allowed to violate the rules without punishment. Fourth, does one child enjoy material advantages? Your wallet follows your heart; sometimes, this is a true sign that one child is your favorite. Fifth, when your kids fight, is there one child who usually receives your support?

Sixth, do your family activities usually revolve around making one child happy? And lastly, Is there one child to whom you make comparisons? How often do you say, why can't you be more like your brother or sister?

I know I said last, but maybe there is one more, although I hope you will never have to follow through on this question. Here it is. If you had to send your children into a dangerous situation, who would you send in first? I know that is unimaginable. But it is precisely what Jacob does. Jacob saw Esau, but he had no idea how his brother would react to his presence. And so, he sends his family to him in groups. The first group included his female servants and their children, who were also Jacob's children. Next, his first wife, Leah, and her children. In the last group was Rachel and Joseph, his favorite wife and favored son. There could be no doubt that Jacob had a favorite. And they were the last to be sent into a possibly dangerous situation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 34

I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. – Genesis 32:10

Today's Scripture Reading (October 13, 2024): Genesis 32

St Augustine said, "The best disposition for praying is that of being desolate, forsaken, stripped of everything." That was precisely where Jacob found himself. He possessed nothing when he had left his home many years earlier. Now, Jacob had acquired wealth and family, all because the hand of God had blessed him. So, Jacob prayed while he approached home for the first time in over a decade. Once again, Jacob came to God feeling like he had nothing. Despite the realization that Jacob had sinned, everything he had acquired was at God's command. However, Jacob knew the things he had gained would never make up for what he had forfeited in the earlier years of his life.

When he was young, it hadn't been God's hand he had followed, but his own. Now, he had to pay the price. His prayer? "I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant … Please save me."

I find that in our contemporary society, it seems so hard for us to get to this point. Instead, we come to God with the argument that we have been good people, so God owes us. However, none of that is true in the eyes of God, and none of it displays the humility that God requires of his servants.

George Herbert (1593-1633), the English poet and priest in the Church of England, had inscribed on a ring that he wore every day this motto; "Less than the least of all God's Mercies." It was the testimony he bore on his body every time he picked up a pen. God, I am less than the least. I don't deserve the blessings you have given me, yet you still bless me.

It is not devaluing ourselves; we are his creation, and we should recognize the value that God places in us. But our natural reaction is usually to put others down and see the ways that we are better, and that is not God's way. So, in humility, we recognize the importance of the other person. Jacob would send his servants and gifts ahead of him. However, Jacob stayed humbly in the presence of God in the camp at Mahanaim.

Have you gone through a "dark night of the soul" recently? I know, I have. I love the words of contemporary poet Jeremy Deibler.

I can't find the words to pray

I'm a little down to day

Can You help me

Can You hold me

I feel a million miles away

And I don't know what to say

Can you hear me anyway.

What I need is for you to reach out your hand

You have taught me no matter what You'd understand

 

Lord, move in a way that I've never seen before

Cause there's a mountain in the way and a lock on the door

I'm drifting away; waves are crashing on the shore

So Lord Move, or Move me

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 33

Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad." – Genesis 31:24

Today's Scripture Reading (October 12, 2024): Genesis 31

During the French Revolution, there came a time when Louis XVI and his wife, the infamous Marie Antoinette, decided that they had to leave Paris and France. The idea was that they would masquerade as commoners and escape with their family. The original plan was for the Royal Family to separate and escape using different routes. But that was not acceptable to the Royal Family. And as the plan for the grand escape went forward, it became clear that King Louis and Queen Marie had led such sheltered lives that they had no idea how a commoner lived. And the way they left the city, although disguised, left little doubt that the Royal Family had traveled here.

As a result, there was also a significant change in the escape route. The original route went through the countryside, contacting very few villages or settlements. But again, Louis was mistakenly convinced that the problem was the "woke" people living in the city, namely Paris. The smaller towns would rally to his side and support their King. So, Louis decided to take a route that went through several smaller towns. As a result, at almost every step of the way, not only did the people recognize them, but the ones who wanted to keep the Royal Family under guard in Paris knew precisely where Louis and Marie were. All of this worked together to make the attempted escape a grand failure and return the Royal Family to their captivity in Paris, where Louis and Marie would eventually be executed.

Jacob and his family decide to escape Laban. Jacob wasn't in danger like Louis and Marie, but he knew he had to get away from his scheming Father-in-law. Jacob takes his family, including Leah and Rachel, Laban's daughters, and heads away from Laban's influence.

Another difference between Jacob and Louis is that Jacob already seems to have lived a fair distance from Laban. It took Laban three days to figure out that Jacob was on the run, but Louis's enemies knew the King was gone almost immediately. However, with all of his family and flocks, Jacob couldn't move very fast. As a result, Laban was able to locate Jacob and catch him.

We don't know what could have happened when Laban finally caught up to his son-in-law. Laban was angry and would have liked to have caused Jacob harm, except that God came to him in a dream and told him no. God wouldn't force Laban to play nice with Jacob or say good things, but he would not allow him to cause Jacob harm. Laban had a front-row seat to watch God bless Jacob over the years. Laban had no reason to doubt that God would protect Jacob from any damage that Laban could do to him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 32

Personal Note: Happy Birthday, Mom.

Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" – Genesis 30:2

Today's Scripture Reading (October 11, 2024): Genesis 30

A good friend and his wife wanted children. They had jumped through all the hoops, yet they were not graced with any kids. What I especially remember about this stage in their lives was the Mother's Day celebrations. I was just a friend, but my heart would break every Mother's Day as we would honor mothers, and I would watch my friend leave the sanctuary in tears because she wanted to be a mother, and yet she still wasn't. Those moments of despair had a lasting effect on me. In one of those moments, I decided that how we celebrated Mother's and Father's had to change. We had mothers who had children, but we also had women who played the role of mothers who were without children. I remembered my childhood and a married couple who had a significant effect on me and who never had any children of their own. Instead, they donated time and effort to build into the lives of many children like my sister and me. There was no doubt in my mind that this couple were parents but never got honored as such. And so, we started to honor ladies on Mother's Day. We wanted to honor anyone who played the role of a mother, whether they had children or not, and sometimes this meant honoring a few fathers.

For my friends, they eventually gave up on the idea of having a child. Maybe they would adopt a child someday down the road. But for now, well, they got a dog. That seems to be another common reaction. The childless couple I mentioned had greatly affected me and my sister had two dogs. If you can't have children, getting a dog seems to be the appropriate thing to do. My friends got a dog and gave up any hope of having a child. Then, something amazing happened. Debbie (not her real name) got pregnant. Again, it is a familiar story. Something that you want, you decide you can't have, and then you get it. It isn't a rare story; it happens more often than we might want to admit.

Rachel wants children, yet she remains without a child. She knows how much Jacob values her. After all, Jacob had worked fourteen years without pay to get her as his wife. He wouldn't have worked one day for Leah. The only reason why Leah was his wife was because their father had tricked him. There was no doubt that Jacob loved Rachel. But that wasn't enough. The lack of a child had driven Rachel to despair despite her beauty and the value Jacob had placed on her.

Yet, her most crucial desire Jacob was powerless to fulfill. She blamed Jacob, and Jacob was frustrated, and he became angry. He could work fourteen years for her. Jacob could shower her with everything that she wanted. But what he couldn't do was give her a child. That was up to God and dependent on God's timing. And nothing that Jacob did could change that.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 31

When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. – Genesis 29:3

Today's Scripture Reading (October 10, 2024): Genesis 29

It takes a village. The full proverb argues, "It takes a village to raise a child." The phrase is African in origin but might be better remembered as the title of a book by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the book, Clinton unveils her vision for the children of the United States. She itemizes the forces outside of the family that positively and negatively impact a child's well-being. Clinton advocates for a society that would prioritize a child's needs.

A related phrase is "Teamwork makes the dream work." The origin of this phrase is unknown, but leadership author John Maxwell and former basketball all-star Michael Jordan have been suggested as possible initiators of the axiom. Both phrases argue that things are easier to do together and that we get better results if we are willing to accomplish our goals with each other.

Water would be necessary as the shepherds took their sheep out to pasture. And so, they would gather at a well that was covered with a large stone. The tradition was that the well would remain covered until all the shepherds had gathered with their flocks. Then, the stone would be removed, the sheep watered, and the well would be covered once again until the next day's gathering. The reality was that the task of handling the stone was more manageable with more hands set on the task. But the other reality was that some, specifically Rachel, likely couldn't uncover the well by themselves. And so, they did it together.

I live in a society that likes to think that we can do things without help from anyone. We love the idea that we are self-made and self-sufficient. But we are deceiving ourselves. Politically, we are still being told the lie. It has become a staple of our right-side politics. It doesn't matter whether you are British, American, Canadian, or "input your nationality here," someone has probably suggested recently that it is better for the nation to go it alone. The only exceptions might be Ukraine and the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, places under such distress that they know they need all the help they can get, which tells us something else about ourselves. But if there is any hope for this world, it will be because we have realized that if we are going to move the stone from the top of the well, it is better if we do it together.

We all need each other, period. There are no exceptions where this is not true. Anyone who says differently and believes that the path to success is found in isolating ourselves from the rest of the world is either naïve or lying. It takes a village to make anything worthwhile work. Teamwork really does make the dream work, whether you are a shepherd four thousand years ago or a mechanic in our contemporary world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 30

There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. – Genesis 28:13

Today's Scripture Reading (October 9, 2024): Genesis 28

God met Jacob where he was. The only thing that made that place special was that Jacob was there and that Jacob was broken. And when we are broken, we are probably in the place where we are most willing to hear the voice of God. I believe that part of the loss of power that the North American Church seems to experience regularly is because we are seldom broken. In fact, I think it is probably more likely that we will find broken people in a bar rather than in a church. I also believe God speaks more often to people in a bar than he does in a church. In a bar, people are frequently ready to listen to what God has to say.

I like how "The Message" translates the first two beatitudes. The Bible says that Jesus was drawing such large crowds that one day, he decided to climb a hill with those who were committed to him climbing with him. Then Jesus sat on the hillside and taught them, and he began with a group of sayings that we call the beatitudes. 

You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you (Matthew 5:3-4)

Often, we hear Jesus's words as he starts his "Sermon on the Mount," but we don't understand those words with our hearts. Jacob would have understood Jesus's sermon with his heart. He was living it. But to God, the situation of Jacob's life didn't matter. What mattered was Jacob. And God came to where Jacob was.

God's message hasn't changed. What matters to God is you. And God wants to meet you where you are, in no particular place. The problem is that we often don't want to allow God to meet us there. We don't want Him to see the mess we have made of our lives. The problem is that it's not optional. More church-going people are kept from living faithful Christian lives because they don't want to meet God in no particular place where their lives are not just right.

Our message is, "God, let me climb to you." But God's answer always stays the same. You cannot get to where I am. But I can come to you. So, God went down the stairway to meet Jacob at no particular place. And God stepped down out of heaven and greeted the human race at a no particular place called Bethlehem and Nazareth. And Jesus walked down out of heaven at no particular place to meet with two disciples after his death on the road to a place called Emmaus.

And God wants to meet you at no particular place. The place has never been essential; it has always been you.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 29