Becoming a Community
Good morning, we are nine days into this new year and today we read Genesis chapters 28-30. I will share the three highlights that spoke to me.
In 28:3 we read: May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. (Gen 28:3, NIV)
I have gained an understanding of the pressure a pastor faces when he is trying to build a church. The pressure to increase the size of your congregation is always there. Only by growing can you increase your resources.
When more people join your community, you have more people who God will lead to be teachers, to be greeters, to join the praise team, and even add to your prayer group. These are all important to a growing community of faith.
Although we don’t meet in a building, and I hope you all are members of a local church, my goal with these devotionals is to create a virtual church. A community of believers who will get to know each other and will encourage and pray for one another.
Use Our Gifts
Our country, indeed, the world, can become more united in Jesus these days through the power of the internet. I have grown tired of this gift God gave us being used for vile purposes, and it is my intention to use it for His glory.
Just like in the local church, this only happens when members step out of their comfort zone and volunteer to help. I would encourage you all to introduce yourself to each other, or to the group. Tell us what you hope to gain from this community and what you believe your gift is.
I believe we all know where our strength, or at least our passion, is. Along the way, I encourage each of you to share any thoughts, or needs, or concerns with me. My desire is for this to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all.
Don’t Bargain With God
I don’t want to be like Jacob in verse 28:20, however. Here he is trying to bargain with, perhaps even manipulate, God. He says IF God will protect and provide, etc., then He will be his God. This is wrong. God is God. He is my God, whether He gives me bread or a snake.
He was my God when my back got broken as much as He was when my son was born. I didn’t even know Him at those times, but He still was, and will always be. It is not within my, or any of ours, power to make Him God. He is God. As He Himself proclaimed, I am.
Cultural Differences
Most of the verses today dealt with this ancient ritual of polygamy. The text describes men receiving daughters as wages. This doesn’t sit well in today’s world, but we need to recognize the cultural differences and, instead of being appalled, be grateful that God has evolved us to where we no longer have these views.
Love, it would seem, was not highly valued in that culture. Jacob loved Rachel, and it would seem both she and Leah loved him. Both women believe that providing sons to Jacob will cause him to love them. We all have a need to be loved. Love should be unconditional, however, not based on providing sons.
Leah’s six boys were born out of her love for Jacob, or at least her desire for him to love her. Only Joseph was born from Jacob’s love, which was always for Rachel. The rest of the sons were born because the servants were told to copulate with their master. We should keep that dynamic in view as we read through the history of how these tribes interact with each other.
