Fri.’s Devo - Leaving Laban and Going Home

Read: Genesis 30:1-31:16; Matthew 10:1-23; Psalm 12:1-8; Proverbs 3:13-15 Rachel and Leah were not without drama and sibling rivalry. To make things worse they were married to the same man and the way to have status in their day was to have sons. Rachel was the one who was pretty and loved by her husband but Leah was the one who could produce sons. They both caved to what Sarah did by throwing in their concubines to help their own status. In the end, twelve sons would be born between the four women and they would all have Jacob’s seed, Isaac’s seed and Abraham’s seed. Jacob was not without his own drama. He had tricked his brother Esau out of his birthright and blessing and then went to live with the greatest trickster of all - Laban. God used Laban to humble Jacob. Jacob worked hard for Laban and worked all his deceit out of himself. When he had had all he could take, God told him it was time to go back home. Jacob had learned through his animals that you become what you behold and he did not want to become like Laban. God appeared to Jacob and reminded him of the vow he had made to the Lord at Bethel that he would return to his own homeland one day. It was time to do that. His wives were in agreement to leave because their father had also tricked them out of any inheritance they would receive. In Matthew, we have the list of Jesus’ disciples just like we had a list of eleven of the twelve sons of Jacob in Genesis. Jesus sent his disciples out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and that the Messiah had come in the body of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They were sent to the Jewish people only because it was to them first. They were the offspring of Abraham and they had the opportunity first to come into the kingdom. The disciples were to depend on the Lord to provide for them. Those who received them would receive a blessing and those who refused them would receive a curse. Jesus warned them from the beginning that they would be persecuted like him and it would not be easy for them. He would return before they had reached all the towns of Israel. Lord, thank you for the trials we face because we know that they are working to produce a finished work in us. May we submit to your discipline and learn from our mistakes. You never leave us or forsake us. You are on our side.

Thurs.’s Devo - Leah’s First Four

Read: Genesis 28:1-29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11-12 Isaac sent Jacob to his wife’s family where Abraham was from to find a wife. He told him to marry one of Laban’s daughters which is exactly what he would do. Esau heard about what his father did and how he didn’t like the Hittite women so he married one of Ishmael’s daughters. On Jacob’s way to Laban’s house he stopped to spend the night in the wilderness. He found a stone for his pillow and step. He dreamed of a stairway that reached to heaven and saw angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top stood the Lord. He introduced himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac. He told Jacob that the land he was lying on belonged to him and descendants. His descendants would be great and be a blessing to the whole earth. He took the rock he had used for a pillow and made an altar to the the Lord. The place he was in was called Luz which means “perverse” but he changed it to Bethel which means “house of God”. Jacob promised that if God would go with him and provide his needs and if he returned safely to his father’s house, then the Lord would be his God. The altar he made would stand as a place to worship God and Jacob would tithe to the Lord. Jacob continued traveling east till he came to a well where a few shepherds had gathered with their flocks. Jacob asked if any of them knew his uncle Laban and they did. They told him that his daughter was walking toward them. It was Rachel and when Jacob saw her, he removed the heavy stone from the well that usually took all the shepherds to remove. He watered all of Rachel’s sheep then kissed her and explained that he was her cousin, the son of Rebekah, Laban’s sister. Rachel ran to tell her father. Laban came and welcomed him and brought him to his house. He worked for Laban for a month when Laban asked him what he wanted for his pay. Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel so he offered to work for him for 7 years for Rachel. Laban agreed and Jacob worked for 7 years. After the 7 years Jacob asked for his wife. Laban threw a great feast but the night of the wedding, he gave Jacob Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob didn’t find out till the next morning when the sun came up and he could see. Jacob was outraged at Laban. Laban explained that in his culture, the oldest daughter had to marry first but if Jacob would finish his wedding week with Leah, he would give him Rachel if he would agree to work seven more years for him he would get Rachel also. Jacob agreed so he got both Leah and Rachel though he loved Rachel the most. Rachel and Leah each came with a servant: Zilpah and Bilhah. Rachel was barren but Leah was fertile and soon became pregnant. She had a son and named him Reuben which means “see a son”. She thought it would get Jacob’s affection for her. She had a second son and named him Simeon which means God hears. She believed that God heard her cry for love from her husband and blessed her with this son. Her third son was named Levi which means “attached”. Leah had hoped that this son would bind her husband’s heart to hers. Her fourth son was named Judah which means “praise”. Leah worked through her pain of rejection and finally was able to praise the Lord through it all. In Matthew, Jesus had just finished explaining about how you had to have new wineskins to be able to put the new wine God was pouring out during this time. Then a man came to him whose daughter had just died. He asked Jesus to bring her back to life. They would need those new wineskins to be able to believe Jesus could bring someone back to life. Before Jesus could go to see this young girl, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched the hem of his shawl and was healed. Jesus went to the man’s house and told the mourners that the girl was just sleeping. They thought he was crazy till he raised her from the dead. Then, Jesus healed two blind men and told them not to tell. Instead they went out and told everyone. A demon-possessed many who was dumb was brought to Jesus who delivered and healed him. The Pharisees declared that his power did not come from God but from Satan. Jesus traveled through the area proclaiming the good news about the Kingdom of God. He told his disciples to pray for more workers in God’s fields. Lord, thank you for sending us as workers into your field. May we see the kingdom come to earth.

Wed.’s Devo - Wells and Wine

Read: Genesis 26:17-27; Matthew 9:1-17; Psalm 10:16-18; Proverbs 3:9-10 Isaac moved back to the land of Abimelech in the Gerar Valley. This was where he had reaped 10iˆ0-fold before. He began unearthing the wells Abraham had dug and the Philistines had filled. He renamed them the names Abraham had given them proving they were their wells. The shepards of Gerar claimed it to be their well and Isaac gave up and called it Esek which means “strife”. The next well they argued over, Isaac renamed Sitnah which means “hostility and accusation.” The third well he dug proved to bring no contention so he named the well Rehoboth which means “open space”. Finally he had a place to live. Isaac moved on to Beer-sheba where God had appeared to him on the first night. This was also the well which had been a well of contention years earlier with Abraham and Abimelech. They had made a covenant and given it back to Abraham. Hagar would find that well and it would be her and Ishmael’s salvation. Not only had Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant, but God had made a covenant with Isaac telling him that he would bless him and his descendants and they would multiply on the earth. Abimelech, his advisor and his army commander (an intimidating party) came to pay Isaac a visit. They wanted to make a treaty with Isaac since they didn’t think they could fight him they decided to join him. It would be a peace treaty to leave each other alone. Isaac agreed and they made a treaty and they left. Isaac’s servants found a new well so Isaac named the well Shibah which means “oath. They built the town of Beer-sheba there. Esau married two of the Hittite women which brought Isaac and Rebekah much woe. When Isaac became old he wanted to pass on the blessing to his first born. Esau had given up his right as the first born and Rebekah wanted the blessing to go to Jacob, the one who treasured the right of first born. She concocted a plan to deceive Isaac into thinking Jacob was Esau and it worked. Jacob received the blessing and Esau received the curse. This made Esau want to kill Jacob so Rebekah came to his rescue again. She convinced Isaac to send Jacob to her brother Laban’s house so he wouldn’t marry a Hittite. Isaac agreed to let him go. In Matthew, Jesus spent his whole life trying to make new wineskins so he could put his new wine into them. The only way to make new wineskins was to change their way of thinking. He did miracles to help them with this switch. He forgave the man’s sin that had kept him paralyzed because that is what sin does. It paralyzes us. People were amazed that God would give such authority to humans but God wants to give us that same authority. Jesus did such things as eat with tax collectors explaining that it was people who recognized a need for a savior that he came to save. Lord, may we honor you so that our barns will be filled with grain and our vats overflow with good wine.

Tues.’s Devo - The Twins

Read: Genesis 24:52-26:16; Matthew 8:18-34; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 3:7-8 When reading today’s story, I notice how Rebekah’s brother Laban seems to take the place of the father. He and the mother get the gifts from Abraham’s servant and they make the decisions for Rebekah. But, ultimately, Rebekah made the final decision to leave right away and go back with him to meet her new husband. Isaac was at least 20 years older than Rebekah which was the custom of the day. Isaac had been meditating in the very place where Hagar had met the Lord and he rescued her from death. She had named the place Beer-lahai-roi - “well of the Lord who sees me”. From that place Isaac looked up and saw his bride for the first time. Rebekah saw him too and covered her face. Isaac heard the whole story of how the servant chose Rebekah and took her into Sarah’s tent and loved her. She was a great comfort to him after losing his mother, Sarah. Abraham remarried a woman named Keturah. She had six sons. Abraham left everything to Isaac when he died but gave gifts to his other sons and sent them east to settle and multiply. Isaac went to live in Beer-lahai-roi. Ishmael had 12 sons who settled east of Egypt and like the prophesy said, they lived in open hostility to their relatives. Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah. Rebekah was barren and Isaac prayed earnestly to the Lord to open her womb. God answered Isaac’s prayer and Rebekah was blessed with twins. The twins fought even in the womb and when Rebekah asked the Lord what was happening in her womb he told her. She was bearing two rival nations. One would be stronger than the other but the older son would serve the youngest. When Rebekah delivered, the first son was red and covered with thick hair. They named him Esau, which means “shaggy’. The second son was born holding on to his brother’s heel. They named him Jacob which means “supplanter”. He would supplant his brother in every way. Isaac was 60 years old when the twins were born. Isaac was partial to Esau because he loved to eat the venison that Esau killed. Rebekah was partial to Jacob because he loved to stay home. One day, Esau came home starving after being on a long hunt. Jacob was cooking stew and bargained Esau’s birthright for some stew. Esau despised his birthright and gave it up for the stew. A severe famine came to the land so Isaac moved his family to Gerar where Abimelech livd. God told Isaac and told him not to take his family to Egypt but to stay there and God would bless his descendants and make them as numerous as the sands of the sea and the stars in the sky. In the very land where Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife, now Isaac lied about Rebekah being his wife. Abimelech, (probably the son of the one who Abraham knew) found out Rebekah was Isaac’s wife and called Isaac in. He rebuked him for lying to him. He put out a law of protection around Isaac and his wife. That year, Jacob planted and received 100 times what he planted as a return. He became so rich that the Philistines were jealous and filled up his wells so he couldn’t water his cattle These were the wells that Abraham had dug. Abimelech called Isaac in again and told him it would be better for him to leave because he was becoming too powerful for them. This story shows the power that we as Christians are suppose to walk in. The devil and his people should be afraid of us and our wealth. I believe that this day is coming. In Matthew, Jesus made it clear to those who wanted to follow him that they were not promised a comfortable life but it would cost them everything. As Jesus was in the boat with his disciples crossing to the Gentile side, a storm arose in the sea. Jesus was asleep in the bottom of the boat and his disciples wakened him in a panic. They told Jesus that they were going to drown if he didn’t save them. Jesus asked them why they had so little faith. He rebuked the wind and the waves and there was instant calm. The disciples were amazed. Satan did not want Jesus to reach the other side because his principality was dwelling in a man who lived in the tombs and was violent. Matthew’s account says that there were two of them. They met Jesus screaming at him wanting to know why Jesus was interfering with their mission and wanted to know if he had come to torment them before their time. They begged to be cast in to the pigs that were near them. Jesus allowed them to go into the pigs who plunged over the cliff into the lake of water below. (What a picture of Satan and his demons being thrown into the lake of fire in the end.) The men who herded the pigs ran into town telling everyone what they had seen. The entire town came and begged him to leave them alone. They would change their tune later and welcome Jesus back. Lord, it is obvious that living for You will cost us everything and that your way is so misunderstood by the world. May we not miss our destiny by trying to please others. You are our hope and our reward.

Mon.’s Devo - A Wife for Isaac

Read: Genesis 23:1-24-51; Matthew 8:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 3:1-6 Sarah lived to be 127 years old and died. Sarah was 90 when she had Isaac so she got 37 years with him. Abraham had no land of his own to bury Sarah so he bought his first piece of land in Canaan to bury his wife and their descendants. All of the patriarchs would be buried here and even Joseph’s bones were brought back to this field and buried. He bought it from Ephron of Zohar for the full price of 400 pieces of silver. “Ephron of Zohar” means “he of dust - whitening”. In 4,000 years Jesus would come and make man, made of dust become white as snow. It was now time to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham didn’t want Isaac to marry a Canaanite so he sent his servant to his homeland to find a wife. He specifically told him that she must be willing to leave and come to Canaan because Isaac was never to return there. It would be his son, Jacob that would return and live there and come face to face with himself. When the servant got to the land of Abraham’s birth he prayed for help from God. He asked that the woman who came to the well, and when asked for a drink, would offer to give water to all his camels. She would be the one. Before he could finish his prayer he noticed a beautiful woman walking to the well. She was Rebekah and she was the one. When she finished watering his camels he learned that she was Abraham’s youngest brother’s (Bethuel) daughter. She had a brother, Laban who was very crafty. When he saw the bracelets and rings the servant had given Rebekah, he ran to meet him first and invited the servant to his house. He would be the father-in-law to their offspring, Jacob. Laban and his father, Bethuel both approved of Rebekah being taken to Canaan to be Isaac’s wife. In Matthew, a man came to Jesus who had leprosy. Leprosy had never been healed except for Naaman the Syrian in 2 Kings 5. The man with leprosy approach Jesus and knelt before him proclaiming that he knew Jesus could cleanse him and heal him. Jesus agreed and took him who was made of dust and made him white as snow. Jesus told the man to go to the priests and show himself so they could also pronounce him clean and do the ritual of leprosy over him as according to the Law. Next, a Roman officer came to him and pled with him to come and heal his servant who was paralyzed and in terrible pain. Jesus agreed to come to his house, but the officer humbly told him that all he had to do was to speak it from where he was standing and he knew that his servant would be healed where he was. Jesus was astounded that this officer understood so well how prayer worked and and had so much faith that God would act for him. Jesus told the crowd that this man was just a forerunner of the Gentiles that were going to come into the kingdom and possess it when many Jews would end up in eternal judgment for not having faith. Jesus told him to go home because his servant was indeed healed. Jesus went home to stay with Peter and his mother-in-law was in bed sick. Jesus went in and touched her hand and she was healed. That evening many demon possessed people were brought to Jesus and he delivered them and healed the sick. Lord, thank you that you are no respecter of persons. You heal and save the Gentile and the Jew, the rich and the poor. In spit of our failures you have a plan.

Sun.’s Devo - Tests

Read: Genesis 20:1-22:24; Matthew 7:15-29; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 2:16-22 Abraham moved to the southern border of Canaan and then to Gerar. Abraham deceitfully introduced his wife as his sister to protect himself since Sarah was so beautiful. The King Abimelech sent for Sarah and had her brought to his palace for his harem. That night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told her that he was a dead man because he had taken a married woman. Because he was innocent, God told Abimelech to give Sarah back to Abraham and Abraham would pray for him because Abraham was a prophet. Early the next morning, Abimelech obeyed and gave Sarah back to Abraham demanding to know why he would do such a thing. Abraham told him it was to save his own life. Abimelech gave him some of his sheep and goats, cattle and servants. He gave Sarah back to him and He also gave him his choice of land and 1,000 pieces of silver to pay for what he did. Abraham prayed for Abimelech and blessed him and his family. God had caused his family to be sterile until Sarah was returned. It must have healed Sarah’s barrenness to pray for their bareness because this was the time that she finally became pregnant. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old. He circumcized him on the eighth day. This time Sarah laughed out of wonder and true happiness. Isaac means “laughter”. Isaac threw a big party when Isaac was weaned but Sarah noticed Ishmael making fun of Isaac and threw a fit. She wanted Hagar and Ishmael to leave. Abraham went to the Lord because he loved Ishmael. God told him to do what Sarah said to do because his descendants would be counted through Isaac, not Ishmael. God would make Ishmael and great nation also. The next morning, Abraham prepared food and water for Hagar and Ishmael and sent them away. When they ran out of their supplies, Hagar sat Ishmael under a bush and went a distance away to cry. She didn’t want to see Ishmael die. God spoke to her and told her that he heard Ismael’s cries and came to save them. Ishmael would become a great nation. Then God showed Hagar a well full of water which gave them strength. Ishmael became a great archer and they settled in the wilderness of Paran. He married a woman from Egypt. Abimelech came to visit Abraham and saw how blessed he was. They made a covenant to be allies. Abraham told Abimelech about a quarrel that both of their servants were having over a well. Abraham claimed that the well was his. They made a covenant and Abraham got the well. He called it Beersheba which means “well of the oath”. God tested Abraham and asked him to sacrifice Isaac to Him. Abraham was to take Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer Isaace as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. It is believed to be Mt. Gerizim. This is where the threshing floor of Ornan (2 Sam 24:24, 25; 2 Chr 3:1) was and where Solomon built his Temple. We all know this story. God tested Abraham to the very core. He found that he could trust Abraham and that Abraham had learned to trust Him. Because Abraham passed this test, God told him that his descendants would multiply like the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky. All the nations of the earth would be blessed by his descendants. Abraham learned that his brother Nahor had been blessed with eight sons. The last son was Bethuel who was the father of Rebekah who would become Isaac’s wife. Nahor had four sons from a concubine making his sons total 12. In Matthew Jesus told his followers to beware of the false prophets who appeared to be good but were wolves instead. They would show their true colors by their fruit. In the end, God would testify against them. Jesus’ words are our foundation and if we stand on them we will stand through any storm. Lord, we do stand on the Word of God as our foundation. Help us not to faint but to pass our tests for your glory.

Sat.’s Devo - The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Read: Genesis 18:16-19:38; Matthew 6:25-7:14; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 2:6-15 The angels had just spent time with Abraham telling his God’s plan for him and his family. They decided they would share with him their mission since Abraham was such a big part of what God was doing on the earth. They told him they were sent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because it was so wicked. Abraham knew that Lot lived in Sodom so he started negotiating for their survival. He whittled it down to 10 righteous people hoping that Lot had at least 10 righteous people in his family or servants. The angels agreed not to destroy the city if they could find 10 righteous people there. The angels met Lot when they entered the city and he invited them to stay with him. The angels told Lot that they would spend the night in out in the city square. Lot convinced them that that would not be safe so they came home with him. That night the evil men of the city came to assault the angels and Lot offered them his virgin daughters instead. The angels had to rescue Lot and make all the men blind so they could not get them. Then they told Lot to get his daughters fiancés and flee because they were going to destroy the city at daybreak. They were to run and not look back. Lot tried to convince his future sons-in-law but they only laughed at him. Lot, his wife and his two daughters were the only righteous people in the city so they escaped. His wife turned to look and was incinerated. The angels had told Lot to escape to the mountains but Lot was too afraid to live in the mountains so he convinced the angels to let him live in Zoar. That was a mistake. Zoar and the wicked people there were saved and after living there for a short time, Lot realized they were no different from the people of Sodom so he took his two daughters to the mountains after all. His daughters didn’t trust God and took their future into their own hands. They thought God would not be able to bring them a husband so they got their father drunk to have sex with him. They both became pregnant and the oldest gave birth to Moab who became the nation of the Moabites and the other gave birth to a son named Ben-ammi who became the nation of the Ammonites. Both of the nations became enemies of the Israelite nation. In Matthew, Jesus tells us not to worry about things that deal with our everyday life. We are now part of a heavenly kingdom with a heavenly bank account. God is our provider who will take care of us. We don’t have to worry about tomorrow and what might happen. God is in the future waiting for us with everything we need. He tells us not to judge others because we have enough to worry about in our own lives. Usually what bothers us in another person is the one thing we are blinded of in our own lives. When we get rid of that in our lives, we will be more compassionate of others who struggle with the same issues. Jesus tells us not to waste what is holy on people who are unholy. This is where we have to have discernment to know who the unholy are and who are the prodigal sons. The Holy Spirit is the one who knows and he will show us if we are asking. The next thing Jesus said was to keep on asking and seeking and knocking. We will reap if we don’t give up. God will answer our prayers. He gives the example of a child asking his father for bread. Surely that father will not give his son a stone. He will give him bread. Even evil people give their children good gifts so our heavenly Father who is good will give us good gifts because we are his beloved children. The way to God’s Kingdom is narrow because Jesus is the door - the only door to God. Lord, thank you for Jesus and his atoning sacrifice for our sins. Thank you that we can come boldly before your throne of grace and receive mercy and grace. We trust in you.