Tag: adversity

Forgotten, but Blessed (Genesis 40:1-23)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Joseph, the cupbearer, and the baker in prison, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1643

Sometime later, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker offended their royal master. Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.”

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

“This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cupbearer. And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head. The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.”

“This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”

Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cupbearer and chief baker to join the other officials. He then restored the chief cupbearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup. But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream. Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. (New Living Translation)

Joseph, the cupbearer, and the baker, by Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858)

It is a sinking (and stinking) feeling to be forgotten, as if no one cares. But we know God cares. And we also know Joseph did nothing wrong. How did he get to this point of being left in a prison? What’s up with that?

Joseph’s Story

The story of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-50) is one of the longest narratives in the Old Testament. Joseph was next to the youngest of 12 sons born to their father Jacob. Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife and Joseph’s mother – which also made Joseph one Jacob’s favorites. This didn’t go down well with the rest of the sons. Joseph’s brothers (unbeknownst by Jacob) sold him into slavery.

Joseph was taken to Egypt and became the servant of Pharaoh’s captain of the guard, Potiphar. Joseph distinguished himself as competent, skillful, and virtuous. It was actually his integrity which got him into prison. Refusing to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, she became an angry woman and accused Joseph of something he didn’t do. The captain promptly dispatched him to jail.

Human Hatred and Unfaithfulness

Joseph became a slave in Egypt because of jealousy, hatred, and lack of faithfulness on the part of Joseph’s brothers. They disowned him, sold him, and rid themselves of him. The brothers wanted to forget Joseph, and they did.

Furthermore, Joseph became a prisoner in Egypt because of anger, hate, and betrayal of faith. Potiphar’s wife didn’t get what she wanted from Joseph, so she lied and fumed, landing Joseph in a dank prison. He was left without another thought – forgotten and jailed for no fault of his own.

And just when we think the story might turn around, and Joseph will be freed from his unjust imprisonment, the chief cupbearer (wine steward) promptly forgot him and said nothing to Pharaoh after he was out of jail and restored to his position. Once again, Joseph is the undeserved recipient of unfaithfulness. He remains in prison for another two years. Oy.

As much as we might like to get past all these unjust and maddening situations, Holy Scripture does not let us off the hook so easily. We have to sit with Joseph for a while, and feel what he feels, experience what he experiences, so that we can learn our own lessons from him.

Whether we like it, or not, suffering is a reality. And yet, although sometimes forgotten by humanity, we are remembered by divinity….

Divine Presence in the Middle of Suffering

God is present with us through hardship and adversity. Joseph’s story sets up the contrast between fickle humans and a faithful God. A lot of people in Joseph’s life let him down. But God was there as the continual divine presence throughout every circumstance, both good and bad…

  • God gifted Joseph and had special plans for him. God was with Joseph in his dreams. (Genesis 37:5-11) 
  • God was with Joseph, so that he succeeded in everything he did; the Lord caused all that Joseph did to prosper. (Genesis 39:2-3)
  • God showed Joseph steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The jailer did not worry about anything, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did. (Genesis 39:21, 23)
  • God was present with Joseph in helping him interpret dreams, even in difficult situations. (Genesis 40:8)

God’s presence makes a difference. The Lord met Joseph in his suffering – yet did not leave him there. God entered Joseph’s suffering, was present with him while in it, and eventually brought him out of it, to another and better place. And in the process, God blessed others through Joseph.

Not only did Joseph survive, but he also thrived in the middle of injustice. God quietly went about the business of using Joseph as an agent of blessing everywhere he was sent: To Potiphar and his household; to the chief jailer and all those in prison; and then to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.

In the end, even the conniving and caballing brothers receive blessing — through Joseph. In this way, the Lord was fulfilling the divine promise to Abraham — that he and Sarah and their descendants would be blessed; and that through them, all the nations of the earth would also be blessed.

God is present with those in suffering. Yet, the way God works almost never seems fast enough for those who are suffering. We, along with the psalm writers, cry out, “How long, O Lord!?”

In situations, such as Joseph’s, it won’t do to offer platitudes to “Let go, and let God,” “Everything works for good,” or “God never gives us more than we can handle.” Sheesh. I doubt anyone in life-or-death situations relies on nifty phrases. They want God, and they understandably want God now.

Whether quick or slow, hard or unbearable, the biblical promise nevertheless stills stands that God meets us in our suffering. And God does not leave us there. God also calls us and moves us to more pleasant places. And know this: In the process and in the journey, God will bless others through us.

O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove passive to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or from giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of truth;
Inspire me with a spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

To Be, or Not to Be (Psalm 28)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Only you, Lord,
    are a mighty rock!
Don’t refuse to help me
    when I pray.
If you don’t answer me,
    I will soon be dead.
Please listen to my prayer
    and my cry for help,
as I lift my hands
    toward your holy temple.

Don’t drag me away, Lord,
    with those cruel people,
who speak kind words,
    while planning trouble.
Treat them as they deserve!
    Punish them for their sins.
They don’t pay any attention
    to your wonderful deeds.
Now you will destroy them
    and leave them in ruin.

I praise you, Lord,
    for answering my prayers.
You are my strong shield,
    and I trust you completely.
You have helped me,
and I will celebrate
    and thank you in song.

You give strength
    to your people, Lord,
and you save and protect
    your chosen ones.
Come save us and bless us.
Be our shepherd and always
    carry us in your arms. (Contemporary English Version)

Today’s Psalm, in the Revised Common Lectionary, is alongside the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers in the book of Genesis. While out caring for the vast flocks of sheep and goats, Joseph’s brothers hatched a cabal against their younger sibling. They tossed him into an empty cistern (a deep water well) and intended to leave him for dead.

But when a caravan came along, heading to Egypt, the brothers decided on yet another diabolical plan. So, they brought Joseph out of the cistern and sold him into slavery. And, if that weren’t enough, the hateful brothers kept rolling out the devious scheming by making it look like a wild animal killed Joseph, so that they could hide their shameful guilt from Jacob, their father.

So, we are invited to view the psalm from Joseph’s perspective of frustration and agony, crying out to God. Then, praising the Lord for listening and saving his life – even if it meant becoming a servant in a foreign country.

Although becoming a slave was certainly not an ideal situation, Joseph faced a desperate need, even death, and the Lord saved him from it. And Joseph was encouraged and emboldened by the reality that God was with him, no matter where, nor what the situation.

Joseph, along with the original craftsman of the psalm, David, gave praise to God for hearing their prayers. Whereas we may get lost in anger and want retribution, perhaps our orientation is best directed toward offering praise to God for being with us and saving us from certain death.

This raises several questions, at least for me, about being in situations where I experience being heard by God, protected from ultimate harm, yet still left between a-rock-and-hard-place:

  • Can I praise God just for being heard and listened to? 
  • Do I really need to be healed or delivered? Or do I actually need to be delivered from the need for deliverance? 
  • What if I don’t get everything I pray for? Am I expecting to receive something God never promised? 
  • Will I offer praise and thanksgiving, even if God is silent? 
  • Is my joy in a relationship with God either conditional, or unconditional?

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (c.1601 C.E.) put the question this way: “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” Hamlet’s soliloquy went on to say:

“Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance, to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin [knitting needle]?”

Like Joseph left for dead in an empty cistern, Hamlet was miserable and burdened with a profound lack of power to change his circumstances. So, he reflected on life and death in a morbid and melancholy way. It’s not that Hamlet had suicidal ideation, as much as he meditated on what life truly is, and tried to find some meaning within it.

Unlike Joseph, Hamlet cannot find the courage to deal with his frustration and feels stymied with fear of the unknown. He became lost in the injustice of it all.

If we are blatantly honest with ourselves, we much too often have a particular outcome in mind that we want or expect God to do. 

Our hopes become tethered to God doing something extremely specific so that, if it does not come to pass, or does not come quickly, or doesn’t happen as we want, then discouragement, disillusionment, and even depression may settle down in our souls like a lead weight. 

Like Hamlet, we become lost in the shadows of our thinking and ponder some sort of escape.

So, here is another set of questions I am asking myself: 

  • If my adverse circumstances do not change, can I praise God anyway? 
  • Can I, like David, take joy in simply being heard? 
  • Can I find gratitude in all situations? 
  • Do I only express thanks and praise to God when things are going my way? 
  • Am I open to whatever God wants to do in my life, even if it is not what I would choose? 
  • Do I feel that I am above having to put up with the wickedness of this world? 
  • Am I expecting heaven on earth, or am I willing to suffer as Jesus did? 

I honestly believe the answers to those questions will largely determine the trajectory of our spiritual development, our emotional maturity, our mental thoughts, and our overall religious experience.

I praise you, O God, in the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult, the failures and the victories. You are Lord over all things. You are my strength and shield in every circumstance. When I am weak, then I am strong. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen.

Walk on Water? Why? (Matthew 14:22-33)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus Walks on Water, by Konstantin Alexejewitsch Korowin, 1890 

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (New International Version)

In the New Testament Gospels, we see Jesus for who he is – Son of God and true Sovereign of the universe – seeking to reconcile people to God through his life, miracles, and teaching. In the Gospels we also see Christ’s disciples for who they are – a rag-tag bunch who express both belief and doubt, and experience both faith and failure.

The reality of the Christian life is that it is a sort of three-steps-forward and two-steps-backward kind of experience. The expectation that we will “succeed” and have everything go hunky-dory each time we step out in faith, is far from how things actually work in both the world and in God’s kingdom. Doubt and failure are important experiences for the believer in Jesus.

Without failure, there is no Christian life. Why? Because it means we are still in the boat.

It’s evidence that we never left the safety of established routines and responded to God’s command to step out of our comfort zone, and boldly go where we’ve never gone before.

Our failures may, like Peter, be colossal bellyflops. Yet, Jesus is there – extending grace to Peter and helping him, even in his failure of faith. Failure does not define us; it isn’t our identity. Jesus is Lord over everything, including storms, hardship, and trouble. 

Yes, there are a lot of scary things in life. Learning to ride a bike was scary. Driving for the first time on an icy road was scary. Getting married and having kids was scary. Admitting a fault, mistake, or weakness is scary. Being vulnerable with another person is scary.

It can even be scary to be at church. Why? Because we might fail, and it may crush us.

The fear of failure, however, need not control our lives. Why? Because grace overcomes everything.

We all find ourselves, at times, caught midway between faith and doubt. But to know this situation is to experience grace. If the worst scenario you worry about in your head would actually come to pass, it will still never change the reality that God loves you! And it will not stop Jesus from extending his hand to you in a life-saving grip of grace. 

Fear melts away when we keep our eyes on Jesus. So, we must focus on Christ, instead of fixating on the waves around us. The truth sets us free. Therefore, let’s notice five truths about Jesus that help us overcome the fear of failure and embrace a life of faith.

1. Jesus is a person of prayer

Jesus was deeply dependent on his heavenly Father. His life exhibited the necessities of simple prayer and obedience. If Jesus found the need for solitude and prayer for his life and ministry, how much more to we need it!? 

The Lord had his disciples get into the boat and go out on the lake. Jesus knew they were about to face a storm. The boat ended up getting thrown around by the waves. Even though the disciples were doing God’s will by going out on the lake, they were not spared from adversity.  

Jesus wanted his disciples to experience the storm. Why? Because it is through the storm that we learn faith.  

Faith is developed through experience and adversity. Faith that never endures distress, never grows and matures. Faith must be exercised – and if it isn’t, it atrophies and becomes useless. 

Show me a person with great faith, and I’ll show you a person that has gone through a boatload of adversity and hurt, having allowed Jesus to grace them with healing.

2. Jesus is present with us, and this presence brings an end to fear

Being in the middle of a lake during a storm did not prevent Jesus from being present with the disciples – he just walked on the water to be with them. Even though the disciples had just participated in the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand, another miracle was not on their radar – which is why they did not recognize Jesus and were afraid when they saw him.

While afraid, we don’t see Jesus, even when he’s right in front of our faces. Why? Because we don’t expect him to be there and mistake him for a ghost.  

When the disciples cried out in fear, Jesus responded. I used to have a factory job, training workers. When the training was completed, I had the trainees evaluate our time together. The top response I received is that my presence helped them to learn their job – the freedom to fail time and time again without judgment. Having me there to rescue them, when things got too much, built confidence that they could do it on their own.

3. Jesus desires those who follow him to imitate him

Jesus walked on water. Jesus invited Peter to walk on water. Peter was not chided by Jesus for getting out of the boat, but for doubting that he could continue in the miracle that was happening. 

Jesus isn’t merely interested in disciples being able to regurgitate his teaching. Why? Because he wants us to exercise our learning through actual deeds of faith.  

Once the command of Jesus was given to Peter, “Come”, then walking on water became only a matter of trust.

“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

G.K. Chesterton

We understandably get nervous when a crazy Jesus and an unpredictable Holy Spirit call us to change by getting out of the friendly confines of the boat. Why? After all, we might fail. 

However, it is at those times that we bank on God’s Word and promises. The Apostle James said that if we find ourselves lacking wisdom to deal with the unpredictable and unknowable, we are to ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and will be given to us. (James 1:5)

Christ Walking on the Sea, by Natali Fedorova

Peter responded to his predicament by crying out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out and saved Peter from his own doubt and lack of faith. Jesus called Peter a “little-faith.”

Many people have lived too long with the notion that God is some stern angry deity who is constantly displeased with sinful people, and that only through perfection will God ever be happy with us. The truth is that Jesus wants us to imitate him; and, when we fail, he is there to pick us up. 

4. Jesus has the authority to settle the storm when he is ready to do it

Jesus is King. Christ is Sovereign of the world. He will bring the crisis to an end according to his own good pleasure and good timing. Rather than spending all our emotional capital by worrying or conniving to get out of a situation, we can trust God and keep our eyes on Jesus.  Our job is to believe; God’s job is everything else.

5. Jesus’ power led the disciples to acknowledge who he is

Worship happens when we see Jesus as he really is, the Son of God. Flat, dull, boring worship comes from flat, dull, boring Christians who are unable to see the power of Jesus in their lives. We discover the power of God when we are in a situation which requires God’s strength to deliver us. Grasping Jesus as the Son of God is more than a verbal confession of faith; it is being able to trust him, like getting out of a boat in the middle of a lake.

We are to live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20). It doesn’t require much faith to pray that Aunt Mable’s bunions will feel better. It only requires a little faith to give a dollar when you have ten dollars. It takes no faith to discuss the weather and steer clear of hard conversations.

But it does require faith:

  • to pray for a miraculous healing every day without giving up for a little boy who is racked by epilepsy, and trust God to spare his life
  • to write a check for $100 to someone in need when you have exactly $100 in your checking account, and trust God to provide for you own necessities. 
  • to go off the grid of the routine schedule to have a difficult discussion about social justice, and trust God to act on Christ’s teachings. 
  • to live as though the mission of God in this world is the most important thing we could ever do, and trust God to step out and do it.

It would be great if we could pray and act without ever doubting or failing, yet the only way to do that is to never step out of the boat. Instead, live life. Trust God. And see what happens.

Holy God, help us, your people, to embrace the life that is truly life by stepping out of the boat.  May Jesus define our lives instead of letting failure define us. May we accept the grace that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we are bold to pray. Amen.

On the Lam(b) (Genesis 31:1-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jacob Flees Laban, illustration from Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us, by Charles Foster, 1897

Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, “Jacob is now a rich man, and he got everything he owns from our father.” Jacob also noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before. One day the Lord said, “Jacob, go back to your relatives in the land of your ancestors, and I will be with you.”

Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to meet him in the pasture where he kept his sheep, and he told them:

“Your father isn’t as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God my ancestors worshiped has been on my side. You know that I have worked hard for your father and that he keeps cheating me by changing my wages time after time. But God has protected me. When your father said the speckled sheep would be my wages, all of them were speckled. And when he said the spotted ones would be mine, all of them were spotted. That’s how God has taken sheep and goats from your father and given them to me.

Once, when the flocks were mating, I dreamed that all the rams were either spotted or speckled. Then God’s angel called me by name. I answered, and he said, “Notice that all the rams are either spotted or speckled. I know everything Laban is doing to you, and I am the God you worshiped at Bethel, when you poured olive oil on a rock and made a promise to me. Leave here at once and return to the land where you were born.”

Rachel and Leah said to Jacob:

There’s nothing left for us to inherit from our father. He treats us like foreigners and has even cheated us out of the bride price that should have been ours. So do whatever God tells you to do. Even the property God took from our father and gave to you really belongs to us and our children.

Then Jacob, his wives, and his children got on camels and left northern Syria for the home of his father Isaac in Canaan. Jacob took along all his flocks, herds, and other property.

Before Rachel left, she stole the household idols while Laban was out shearing his sheep.

Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean by not saying that he intended to leave. When Jacob crossed the Euphrates River and headed for the hill country of Gilead, he took with him everything he owned. (Contemporary English Version)

Moving and changing are a part of life. Change and movement are built into all creation, from the seasons of the year to our physical bodies over time. Some changes and moves we deem as good, and others, not so much. Yet, whether good or bad, any switch or shift in life can be difficult to cope with.

Whatever the circumstance, God stands behind everything, working out good and divine purposes. There are times and seasons in our lives where we can get lost in our own stories. Ultimately, however, our transitions from one place to another are really about our individual stories fitting into the larger story of God.

Whenever we are unable to see how our own story and the story of God fit together, it’s an opportunity to exercise faith and trust in God. Listening to God, and responding to God’s call to move and change, will at times be difficult, due to the uncertainty of our future.

Jacob Urges Leah and Rachel to Flee from Laban, by Pieter Symonsz Potter, 1638

In today’s Old Testament lesson, Jacob has served his father-in-law Laban for twenty years. Now, he hears the call of God to move – and that move is both good and fraught with anxiety. Jacob and his family are on the lam, literally moving their lambs and sheep and everything they own to avoid pursuit and confrontation.

The principal actor and center of the story is not Jacob, but God. The narrative is primarily about God, with Jacob as the supporting actor in the story.

God was watching over and protecting Jacob. The Lord was following through on a promise of land and descendants given to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham – to make him into a great nation so that all people-groups on earth would be blessed. 

So then, the story of Jacob is merely one piece in the grand unfolding drama of God’s redemption. This drama would eventually and ultimately find its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus.

Jacob had in-law issues. His relationship with his father-in-law had always been tenuous, and was morphing into trouble. Laban’s attitude had changed toward his son-in-law, probably due to Jacob’s increasing wealth, and Laban’s decreasing assets.

So, God showed up and told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers. Along with the call to make a change came a promise of God’s continued presence with Jacob. The grace given to Abraham when calling him out of Ur was renewed with more grace when calling Jacob back to the land of his father and grandfather.  It is in God’s nature to be gracious and to heap grace upon grace.

Jacob heeded call of the Lord and began laying plans to move back to Canaan. But how to tell his family about this? What are his wives going to say? After all, he’s talking about moving away with teenagers still in the tent.

With some anxiety, Jacob called his wives, Rachel and Leah, out to the fields to talk. Jacob laid out the story of himself and Laban, which he framed more as a contrasting story between God and Laban:

  • Laban’s attitude changed, whereas God’s attitude does not change. God is not fickle.
  • Laban was unreliable, reneging on promises, but God is reliable and trustworthy, keeping divine promises.
  • Laban kept changing his mind, yet God stays the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
  • Laban saw only self-interest; however God sees everyone and shows solidarity with the oppressed.

This same God is concerned for us and will not renege on promises. God is providentially working out a good  agenda and concern for this earth, and we can bank on it.

The response from Jacob and Rachel to Laban was some tricky thievery. Jacob stealthily took his family and ran away from the situation. Rachel straight up stole Laban’s household gods.

(Note: Old Testament narratives do not usually tell us whether something is bad or good but instead allows the story to unfold and speak for itself so that we can see the ethics working out). 

Jacob and Rachel had a less than stellar response to God’s grace. We do not know exactly what the household gods are, or why Rachel stole them. What we do know is that there was a bit of pagan practice mixed in with worship of the one, true God.

Our circumstances will forever be changing, and God may ask us to move and go do something somewhere else. Yet, no matter the situation, and how different our surroundings may become, God does not change, and is here with us; and, at the same time, is continually moving to accomplish good purposes.

Loving God, you have made the whole of human life in your image; each one of us shaped in love. Your goodness is ever-present within us all. Yet, there is so much evil and pain in our world; it comes at us from every direction.

Teach us how to rediscover your love within us and to use that love as a force for good. Help us to turn our hearts toward the world in hope, praying for each other and regarding each other as a treasure, so that we might be the light which darkness can never overcome, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.