Sun.’s Devo - New Names, New Challenges

Read: Genesis 35:1-36:43; Matthew 12:1-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 3:21-26 God told Jacob to get up and go to Bethel and live there. He was to build an altar where God had spoken to him before. First, Jacob had all his household get rid of their idols and bury them under the great tree near Shechem. Years later, Joshua would bring the multitude of Judah’s descendants back to this very place and make them do the very same thing. He would ask them if they were going to serve the gods of their past or the true God. They chose God, so Joshua put another stone under that same tree as a declaration that they were cleansing themselves of false gods. (Joshua 24) Everywhere they went their enemies were afraid of them. God appeared to Jacob this time and changed his name from Jacob to Israel. This is another clue that the angel Jacob wrestled with was not the Lord. Also, when Jacob asked the man he wrestled with what his name was, he wouldn’t give it. God came and revealed his name in person. He revealed to Jacob that He is God Almighty. Jacob set up a stone and poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. He called the name of the place Beth-el, meaning “house of God.” They traveled from Beth-el to Ephrath, later named Bethlehem where Rachel, like Mary, had her baby. Ephrath means “fruitfulness”. How appropriate that both Joseph and Jesus would be born there. Sadly for Rachel, she died there but her fruit lived on. Rueben did the unpardonable when he slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. Bilhah was Rachel’s maid that bore Dan and Naphtali. I wonder how they thought about that. Jacob made it all the way to Mamre where his father Isaac lived and died in Hebron and was buried with Abraham, Sarah and Isaac lay. Both Esau and Jacob buried him. We are given the genealogy of Esau and see how his family grew and spread across the earth. In Matthew, the Pharisees complained that Jesus’ disciples were not wearing their masks, I mean, that they were plucking ears of corn and eating them on the Sabbath. According to their laws, that was work on the Sabbath. Jesus tried to explain that David did the same thing when he ate the shewbread only the priests could eat. Jesus was trying to tell them that it was not their righteous acts of piety that got God’s attention. He knew their evil hearts. Then he did an act of mercy to prove what God loved. He healed the man’s withered hand. Not working on the Sabbath had more to do with not working for yourself and giving that day to help others. Jesus defied their yokes of bondage which made them so mad. He was taking their control away from them and setting the people free. That is exactly the war we are in right now. The elite want to keep us under their control, but the new age is about setting the people free. They are fighting it with all they have but God’s kingdom is coming and no man can stop it. Lord, thank you for the days we are living in. May we discern the day and live with power and love.