Back in Genesis

Well, after three days in Genesis, then twelve days in Job, we have been back in Genesis for ten days.  Having read Genesis many times, it can be easy to just skim over it and not pay attention because it is very familiar, but I don't want to miss what God is showing me here, whether it is something new or just a reminder.  Looking at Genesis after spending time in Job reminds me that this book, the Bible, is one book and should be read as such, not looking at Job and Genesis as two completely separate stories but part of one long story.  I see the same God, the Sovereign creator in the beginning of Genesis, being sovereign over His creation in Job and continuing as we come back to Genesis.  God's plans prevail no matter what man does.  Redemption is there all along the way.  He is due all our praise!

I love seeing those personal relationships God has with His people, from walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, to Noah and His preserving the human race through him and his family, to Job who was handpicked to be an example of keeping faith through hardships and redemption, to Abraham, who God chose to create a covenant with, whose faith was credited as righteousness, to Joseph who trusted God to use evil for good, and others in between.  We have some great examples of faith here.  We can learn to trust God no matter what, to pray to Him, sharing our hearts with Him, the One who created those hearts, and trust His plans even when we don't understand.  We see God do what man would think impossible, opening a womb that was old and never had conceived.  Though we may laugh at the thought of such a thing, we see God's power, and how nothing can stand in the way of His purposes and plans. We see God entering into covenant with man, THE COVENANT of the Old Testament.  We see beautiful imagery of God's presence as He establishes this covenant.  He loves us.  He truly loves us.  He wants us to be His people.  We see obedience to God's call to move one's family to an unknown land.  We can trust God with the unknown.  It's not unknown to Him.  We learn that though the whole world might seem against us, God can use all the unfortunate circumstances for His glory.  We can trust Him.  At the end of Genesis 40, it says that the cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.   When I read this tonight, I thought, "But God didn't forget him.  God remembered Joseph."  God was still working out His plan, and Joseph was faithful to not sin against God just because everyone else was doing wrong, even when it would be the easy thing to do. What great examples of faith we have here and also truth about our loving God who does not leave forget us.  Isaiah 49 talks about how even when it feel like we have been forsaken and forgotten that God will not forget us, that He has engraved us on the palms of His hands!

On the other hand, there is some bad stuff in Genesis, some grievous sin.  It is amazing to see God continue His plans to redeem His people through some pretty shady folks.  There were quite a few people we met in Genesis that would be best not to emulate.  We see deceit, murder, rape, incest, to name a few.  But God's plan would not be thwarted, and He would even use some of these shady folks in the very lineage of Christ.  It is good for us to see that even with obedience to God, everything will not be perfect for us, but God's plan will prevail.  It is also good for us to see that despite grievous sin, God's plan will prevail.  God is completely Sovereign. He loves us enough to have His redemptive plan in place for us. He loves us enough to show us that we are never too far to be reached by His grace, and He loves us enough tho show us that our deepest hurts can come around to bring Him glory and be used for great good.

I also love those glimpses of things to come, of salvation, and those physical things that have a profound spiritual parallel.  We see the covenant of circumcision, a physical act, and we can thank God, who cuts away the sin from our hearts and cleanses us as we by faith trust in Him.  We can listen to God promise a seed to Abraham and know that many grandsons later, there will be Jesus!  We see Abraham trusting that God would provide a sacrifice as he obediently went, willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, the promised son.  Isn't is great to see God provide the lamb, knowing He would provide again, the ultimate sacrifice that we all need, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?!  We see Abraham send His servant to bring back a wife for His son, and we can think about how God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to our hearts to draw us to Jesus as part of the bride of Christ.  How awesome is it to serve a God of Redemption so full of love for His people!

There is so much in this book of Genesis that I haven't even touched on.  I hope you are continuing this journey with me through the Bible chronologically in a year.  There is so much God wants to teach us and remind us, about Himself and His plans for us.  I pray that He may find us listening to His truth and not keeping it to ourselves.