Leviticus 21:24: The Seriousness of Being God's People

Lest anyone should take the blessing of God lightly, He makes it clear to Moses that his requirements are strict.  The standards for the priests are high, and for the High Priest higher still.  God commands Moses to "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the LORD.  Say to them: 'For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD." - Lev 22:1-3 NIV

God exhorts his people to "Keep my commands and follow them. I am the LORD.  Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes  you holy  and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD." Lev. 22:31-33 NIV
Then he proceeds to lay out the various feasts they are to observe, the first being the Sabbath.  On an annual basis they are to celebrate the Passover to commemorate when God brought them out of Egypt, the Feast of Firstfruits to acknowledge the first harvest, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles to remember that they lived in tents on their journey out of Egypt.
 
In case any of the Children of Israel doubted that God's name was holy and it was not to be profaned, they were told to stone a person in their midst who 'blasphemed the Name with a curse'.  They did as they were told.  This was not just any god they were following.  This was the Name above all Names, the God who bought them and set them apart as holy.

Leviticus 16-20: Set Apart

The Children of Israel were aware that not just anyone could approach the Most Holy God.  They remembered very well what happened to Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu, when they were irreverent.  With this in mind, Aaron received instructions from the Lord on how to make atonement and carefully followed all of God's instructions for what was to becomes part of the Israelite law, the day of atonement.  "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins.  It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. Lev 16:29-31 NIV

But it was not enough to make sacrifices of atonement for their sins.  The people of Israel were also told to separate themselves from those who were not God's chosen people, and from practices that were not the practice of a godly people.  They were not to put together two disparate forms.  They were not to accept the practices of the heathen.   They were to be honest and loving.    Not following these commandments was sin and the punishment for sin would be death and separation.  " 'Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.  You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.  But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations.' " Lev 20:22-24 NIV    They couldn't have it both ways.  They couldn't mix the holy and the profane. They couldn't feast on the promised milk and honey and the enjoyments of other nations at the same time, no matter how tempting or innocent they appeared.

Leviticus 12-15: Purity

Just how dirty was it, wandering around in the desert with thousands of others and their children and their flocks.  How were the Children of Israel to survive without water purification tablets, Clorox and antibiotics?  They had to be constantly vigilant and willing to be placed outside the camp or have their dwelling destroyed for the safety of the community.  The commands in chapters 12 to 15 may seem a little dramatic to us now, but they were absolutely essential for the survival of the Israelites.  Not only did their hearts have to be pure, but their bodies and surroundings had to be pure as well.  What's up with this God?  You, who created the heavens and earth, could have done away with mildew, boils, and infectious diseases.  Oh yeah, that's right.  One man's sin destroyed the perfect world you created.  Now, in addition to envy, greed, and lust, the Israelites have to deal with all the manifest results of uncleanliness.  All they can do is bring their sacrifices of a sin offering and burnt offering to the priest so he can make atonement for them. Only a sacrifice will wash away their sin.  Only blood will make them whole again.

Leviticus 9-11: Aaron is Silent

The priest, Aaron and his sons, begin their ministry, but it is preceded by a warning from Moses that carried with it the prospect of death if it was not obeyed.  "And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you.  As he has done this day, so the LORD has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.”  - Lev. 8:33-35 NKJV

The Lords commands were followed, the priests brought their offering before the Lord, where fire came out and consumed the offering before all of the Israelites.  This display of God's power ignited the people so that they shouted for joy and fell face down.  Everyone seeing this fire from God should have realized that this was serious business.  But not Aaron's Sons, Nadab and Abihu.  Perhaps they were giddy with the celebration, or they just didn't think.  At any rate, they grabbed up the censers, put fire and incense in them and waved the censers around in front of the Lord.  Oops.  The fire of the Lord burned them up, just as it had done to the offering.  God would not tolerate any disrespect. Moses had to remind Aaron of what the Lord said
" 'Among those who approach me
I will show myself holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.'
Aaron remained silent."- Lev 10:3

Imagine!  Aaron has seen the fire of the Lord consume the sacrifice, and then turn around and consume his sons.  He knows now that God is very serious about all of His commands.  "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."  Lev 11:44 NKJV.  It is an awesome thing to come into the presence of the one Holy God. That should be enough to silence anyone.

Leviticus 5-8: No Exceptions

God has made known to Moses all of the offerings he requires: "This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecrations, and the sacrifice of the peace offering, which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai." - Lev 7:37-38 NKJV
God has also made it clear that in addition to the offering for purposeful sinning, an offering has to be made for unintentional sins and sins of commission. And furthermore, lack of resources does not free one from the responsibility of making atonement. If the one who sinned could not afford a lamb, he could bring two doves or pigeons. If even that was not affordable, an offering could be made of fine flour. There was only one path to forgiveness and it required an offering. The ever-seeing, ever-knowing God cannot abide sin in any form. If his creation cannot be as He originally intended when they were placed in the garden, they will have to make atonement for any and all imperfections.

Leviticus 1-4: Offerings

Exactly one year after the Israelites fled Egypt, the tabernacle is set up and God's glory fills it up.  Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.  But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.  For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.  - Exodus 40: 34-38 NKJV

But the tabernacle wasn't just to lead the Israelites.  From there, God calls to Moses and gives directions for offerings.  Burnt offerings and grain offerings were in their history as far back as Cain and Able.  Now the Lord gives them specific instructions on what these offerings should consist of.  He also gives specific instructions on fellowship offerings.  Fellowship offerings, which are discussed further in Leviticus, chapter seven, were not required offerings.  They were above and beyond, just like love offerings are above and beyond the tithe; offerings made by a blessed people to the one who blessed them, acknowledging what God had done.

The next type of offering was one of acknowledgement also, but the sin offering was in acknowledgement of sin:  against God or against their fellow man.  And furthermore, the sin didn't have to be intentional.  Even unintentional sin required an offering, and it was necessary to atone for sin by an individual, by a leader of the community, by an anointed priest, and by the community itself.
‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which should not be done, and are guilty;  when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting.-  Lev 4:13-14 NKJV
 
Unintentional sin against any of God's commandments, required someone to bring the matter to the sinner's attention.  The sinner, whether it is an individual or the entire community, had to make a sacrifice.   Once the sacrifice was made, the sin was forgiven.  The tabernacle was not just for leading the Children of Israel, it was also there to maintain a right relationship with God.

Exodus 34-40: The people give

What a mess the people have made of everything.  Their fickle hearts didn't remain true long enough for Moses to come back down from meeting with God on the mountain.  Moses in his anger at them destroys the commandments that were inscribed by God's hand, and then has to beg God to not destroy the whole lot.  This time when Moses comes back down from spending another forty days on the mountain with God, his face is radiant.  So radiant that even his brother Aaron was afraid to come near him.  Moses convinces Aaron and the leaders to come back to speak with him and he gives the commandments of the Lord to all of them.

  As part of the commands from God, Moses calls out Bezelel and Oholiab to oversee the building of the tabernacle, and asks anyone who wants to contribute offerings for the construction to do so.  As if to make up for the gold that they gave Aaron to make the golden calf, this time, the people bring offerings.  Morning after morning, they bring offerings until finally Moses has to issue an order that no more offerings should be made. The Israelites carried out all of God's instructions for the building of the tabernacle and the making of the priestly garments, just as God had instructed Moses on the mountain.   "According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them." - Exodus 39:42-43 NKJV 

Finally, the people can set off on their journey to the promised land.  They have the law, they have the tabernacle and the priests and most of all, they have hearts ready to follow the Lord.

Exodus 29-33: Any god will do

Just imagine.  Moses is up on the mountain with God, receiving instructions for the purification of the priests, and instructions for how the priests are to sacrifice for the people with offerings and incense.  Then he gives Moses the tablets of stone, with the commandments inscribed by God's own finger, and as Moses stumbles down the mountain, bearing the instructions of the one Holy God, he hears a sound in the camp.  There is dancing and celebrating.  And what are they worshipping?  A lump of gold that came out of a fire in the shape of a calf.  And Aaron, the very high priest that was to be consecrated to God, is the one who was responsible.  If it had not been for Moses' pleas to God, they would have been destroyed.  But God knew that Moses, the one who had seen his glory, the one who knew he could not live without God's presence going before him, Moses could be trusted to lead a fickle people to the promised land. 

Exodus 25-28: The Tabernacle

How do you make a dwelling for the creator of the universe?  First you have to be willing to give.  "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:  “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering." - Exodus 25:1-2  Then you must use the finest materials:  Gold, Silver, Bronze, the best wood, the most beautiful yarns and linens and the finest oil.  You must follow specific, very intricate instructions for each area of the temple.  You have to utilize your finest craftsmen.  Then after you have created the dwelling for God, who can go before him?  Only the High Priest, dressed in the finest robes of royalty:  a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash that have been consecrated so he can enter the presence of God.  With the ephod, Aaron bore the names of the twelve tribes engraved on stones mounted in gold.  The breastpiece also contained the names of each son of Israel engraved in stones set in gold.  The hem of the robe was surrounded by bells and pomegranates so that God could hear him coming.  The turban on Aaron's head held a plate with a seal that said "Holy to the Lord", and which bore the guilt of the Israelites.    With all of these instructions, did the Israelites realize the importance of the tabernacle and their High Priest.  Did they understand that the tabernacle was where God would come to dwell on earth and that they needed a mediator to enter his presence.  Or were they more concerned with their journey, their food, their water?  Did they think, "I'm glad somebody is taking care of the "God" thing, now let me get on with my life."

Exodus 21-24: Fire on the Mountain

Two things stand out in these chapters.  The first is that although the Ten Commandments should have been enough of a guideline for the Israelites to live their lives faultless before God, they were not enough.  So Moses is given further clarification of the law to pass on to them:  Laws for how they should treat their servants, laws about the response to violence, laws about animal control, laws about the responsibility of property, moral and ceremonial principles, justice for all, laws for the Sabbath and laws for their three feasts.  The Israelites must have understood them all, because they replied to Moses that they would obey all of these laws.  Whether the ensuing generations would follow these laws remained to be seen.

The second thing that stands out in these chapters is the mountain of God.  Moses has seen God before, at the burning bush, and still lived.  Now, God invites Moses to bring others up to the mountain,  Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,  and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.". - Exodus 24:9-11 NKJV

Did this small contingency of Israelites see the same thing that John saw in Revelation?  "And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal." - Revelations 4: 5-6 NKJV

 Is that the same mountain that Isaiah talks about?  "Many people shall come and say, “ Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. - Isaiah 2:3 NKJV
 
On that mountain, the Alpha and Omega sits, on a throne surrounded by a shining sea.  His law goes forth from there and we're expected to eat and drink.

Exodus 17-20: The Fear of God

Imagine Moses' task, trying to move a vast horde of people to the promised land,  people that were afraid to be in the presence of God and wanted Moses to be everything to them.  In Chapter 17 Moses was their provider of water, and the one who made it possible for them to defeat their enemies.  He was their judge in Chapter 18, and when they reach Mt. Sinai,, Moses became their connection to God and the one who delivered God's rules, the ten commandments, to them.  "Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.  Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”  So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. Ex. 20:18-21

The Israelites had seen God's mighty power, and they should have seen that God was very jealous for them and would work all kinds of miracles to protect his people.  They wanted all of the benefits of the relationship without having to come in contact with the benefactor.  Since they couldn't keep from sinning based on their love for God, perhaps they would refrain from sin because they had seen his power.

Exodus 13-16: Bitter and Sweet

The Israelites stole away from Egypt in the middle of the night, They didn't have much chance to look back, but there was no need, the Egyptians were so glad to get rid of them that they gave them all their silver, gold and clothing.  They may not have known where they were going, but they had two pillars for guides:  cloud by day and fire by night.  When it appears that all is lost, they are caught between the sea in front and the Egyptians at their back, God provides a way, and the enemy pursuing them is killed instead.  Their song becomes:
“Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Exodus 15:11 - NKJV

The bitter, undrinkable waters of Marah became sweet, and they were led to Elim with it's twelve wells and seventy palm trees.  When they complained that they no longer enjoyed the pots of meat that they had in Egypt,  they were given quail in the evening and manna that tasted like honey wafers every morning.  The Israelites will grumble and be amazed, but they ate manna for forty years.

Exodus 9:12: God Ups the Ante

When Israel was in Egypt's Land, Let my people go.
Oppressed so hard they could not stand, Let my people go.
"Thus saith the Lord," bold Moses said, "Let my people go:
If not I'll smite you first born dead, Let my people go."
Go down, Moses,Way down in Egyptland;
Tell old Pharaoh "Let my people go." - Old Negro Spiritual

This song doesn't say that Pharaoh was a gambling man, but he was.  After the Egyptians cattle died, a plague of boils, and a plague of hail, he finally agrees to let the Israelites go, until it stops hailing and  then he changes his mind.  Moses and Aaron go back to Pharaoh and deliver God's message that there will be a plague of locusts if the people can't leave.  By this time, even Pharaoh's servants are behind Moses.  Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”   Exodus 10:7 NKJV

And the bargaining continues...Pharaoh says he will let only the men go, but reneges and there is a plague of locusts.  But when the locusts are blown away, so is Pharaoh's promise.  After the plague of darkness, he give permission for the people to leave, but not the flocks.  By this time, it wasn't just God and Moses who were getting tired of Pharaoh's shenanigans, even his own people were frustrated and more than willing for the Israelites to leave.  And the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether.  Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.”  And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.  Exodus 11:1-3 NKJV

And then, the day for bargaining was past.  That was it, there would be no more.  There would be no more first born in Egypt.  The Israelite first born would be saved by the blood and the rest would be lost.  The die was cast.

Exodus 5-8: Exile

The Israelites were strangers in a strange land.  The land to which they fled to escape the famine had become their prison.  Instead of being treated royally as the relatives of Joseph who had saved Egypt, they have become the slaves.  And when Moses tries to rescue them, he makes matters worse;  they are forced to find their own straw to make the daily quota of bricks. So Moses returned to the LORD with their complaints

God's response to Moses is, 'You and your ancestors have not seen how mighty I am, but I'm about to show you and Pharaoh who I am.  I am going to lead you out of this land where you are imprisoned back to the land that was promised to your fathers.  The one that is rightly yours because I gave it to your forefather Abraham.'
 
This makes Moses brave enough to go to Pharaoh, but what does he ask for?  He doesn't rear up like Charleton Heston and say 'Let my people go'.  No, instead, he says, 'Pharaoh, if you please, would you let us go into the desert three days journey from here and worship God?'  Pharaoh is not about to let the Israelites have a three day weekend.  They are his prisoners,  they have to keep producing bricks.

Gradually, Moses gets a little bolder with demonstrating the power of  God.  The ante is upped from bloody rivers, to frogs, to gnats.  All are irritants to Pharaoh, but not enough for him to let go.  God's power is at work, but the heart of Pharaoh is not yet changed, and the hearts of the Israelites are not yet longing for a promised land.

Exodus 1-4: The Mountain

The descendants of Israel, who settled in Egypt to escape the famine soon wore out their welcome.  By the time the third generation was born, they were being forced into slave labor and their male children were being killed at birth.  Then one of Jacob's great-great grandsons, Moses, the one who was saved, and should have been their savior, runs away.  He runs to Midian which is on the Sinai peninsula, a barren dessert land, with one remarkable feature.  There in the desert, was the 'mountain of god',  Mt. Hebron, or Mt Sinai, the place  it was rumored that god lived.  And there, in what was not to be the last time, Moses comes face to face with God,  in the only way Moses can see him at the time, as a burning bush.  The voice from the bush says that Moses has been chosen to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, and  gives Moses examples of the miracles he will perform to make Pharaoh let the Israelites go.  Moses argues with a burning bush, and becomes an unwilling messenger.  He barely escapes being killed by the Lords anger and finally after God sends Aaron to meet him, he returns from the mountain.  This is not the last time Moses will encounter this mountain, the holy mountain of the Lord, with burning bushes, smoke and fire, but the exact location of that mountain, is no longer known.  Has the place where God speaks to man disappeared, or has it's location changed.
 
The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way:  "For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow  And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.)  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,  Hebrews 12 18-25 NKJV

Genesis 48-50: The end of an Era or Beginning?

The house of Israel, all twelve of Jacob's sons are now safely ensconced in Egypt.  Jacob's heart is full because he has experienced what he never expected to see, a reunion with his long lost son Joseph.  Now, he can die a peaceful and blessed man.  All that remains is for him to pass a blessing on to his sons, and since family history repeats itself, the major blessing will not go to his eldest son, Reuben.  Nor will it go to the next two that were born, Simeon and Levi.  Jacob may have been old and feeble, his eyes may have been failing because of old age, but he could see clearly into the hearts of his sons.  Since the time they threw Joseph in the well, Judah had become the spokesman of conscience for the brothers:  in Genesis 37, Genesis 43, in his impassioned plea for Benjamin when Joseph wanted to keep him in Genesis 44 and in Genesis 46 when Jacob sent him on ahead get directions to the land of Goshen.  Jacob, the one whose name had been changed to Israel, saw into the future of all time and gave the blessing to Judah. 

"Judah, your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father's sons will bow down to you.

You are a lion's cub, O Judah;

you return from the prey, my son.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down,

like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he comes to whom it belongs 

and the obedience of the nations is his.

He will tether his donkey to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch;

he will wash his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes will be darker than wine,

his teeth whiter than milk. Gen:49:8-12 NIV

And so,it comes full circle again.  Could Jacob see ahead to the future, did he see the same thing that the Disciple John saw on the Isle of Patmos?  "And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.  Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”  And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.  But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." - Rev 5:1-6 NKJV

Genesis 42-47: Famine and Retribution

What were the sons of Jacob thinking in the years after they sold their brother into slavery in Egypt.  Did they grieve with their father every time Joseph's name was mentioned?  As they watched their own sons grow, did they realize how painful the loss of one of their own would be.  Did they carry the guilt of their betrayal with them throughout the years. Or had their minds come to believe the story they invented, that Joseph had been torn to pieces by a wild animal. The one thing they were not doing was envisioning the powerful rise of their brother in Egypt and the luxurious circumstances he found himself living in as compared with their struggle to feed their family and flocks as the famine deepened.

And was Joseph's family just a fleeting thought as he occupied himself with more pressing matters:  being the number two man in charge of all of Egypt, growing and protecting it's vast wealth, and raising a family of his own.  Did Joseph spend his time thinking "I'll get even with them." or were his thoughts instead "Oh, if only I could see my father and my brothers."?  Whatever any of their thoughts were  through the years, they were lost in an instant when Joseph finally reveals his identity to his brothers. "Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.  And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.  But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.  And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Gen. 45:3-8 NKJV

 It was just as Joseph dreamed, his brothers bowing low before him.  They were brought low and he was built up, but it was all in God's plan to save the twelve sons of Israel for something even greater. The individual stories pale before the greater plan.

Genesis 37-41: The Dreamer in the Flashy Coat

In the middle of the continuing soap opera of the family that is to become the Israelites, comes Joseph.  The much loved son of Jacob and the beloved Rachel who was unable to have children for a good part of their married life.  Rachel named him Joseph, which means God will add.  God did give Rachel another son, but she died giving birth. After Jacob buried Rachel, he moved back to stay close to his father, Isaac, until he died as well.  In his sorrow, it was only natural that Jacob would lavish attention on Joseph.  He was the son he had waited for and had preceded all of his sorrows, but he was a dreamer.  Was it because of his cherished position in his father's eyes that he saw more than the others could see?  Or was he favored because he adored his father, and did everything possible to please him?  At any rate, he was an irritant his brothers and they conspired, first to kill him, then reduced their plans to throwing him in a well until he could be sold to some traveling Ishmaelites, descendants of their grandfather's half brother, who were on their way to Egypt.
 
In reading these chapters, you get the sense that Joseph was naive in a worldly sense.  But that was only because he saw things at a different level, a higher perspective, if you will.  The Lord was with him.  Even in Egypt, he prospered, and those he worked for prospered.  When Potiphar's wife falsely accused him and he was thrown in jail, the Lord's favor made him successful there as well.  Joseph was always ending up in a tight spot, but God was always faithful and brought good out of his bad circumstances.  In return, Joseph never attributed his success to his own abilities or blind luck.
 
When asked to interpret dreams, Joseph always gave the credit to God.  "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”  Gen. 41:15-16 - NKJV
 
Pharoah recognized that it was God that gave Joseph his wisdom.  "So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.  And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you." - Gen. 41:37:39  NKJV

And Joseph recognized that all of his blessing came from God.  "And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”  And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”  Gen. 41:50-52 NKJV

Even in the worst of situations: thrown in a well, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned, the favored one was still the favored one.

Genesis 32-36: What's in a Name?

To understand Jacob's name, you have to see him at the moment of birth.  His twin brother Esau is born, and like a drowning man, Jacob is immediately pulled from his mother's womb clinging as hard as he can to his brother's heel.  So he was given the name Jacob which means "he grasps the heel" or figuratively, "he deceives."  And up to this point, that is what Jacob's life has been, one of deceit, with Jacob being both the exploiter and the recipient.

But now, now that he has become wealthy, and is surrounded by wives, children and possessions, the results of everything gained by deceit no longer satisfy.  He longs to go home, to the place he left in haste because he stole his brother's birthright and blessing.  All of a sudden, relationships have become more important to him than anything else, and he has put possessions first for so long, he doesn't know any other way to gain his brothers trust except by possessions.  So he sends an offering; a major portion of his cattle ahead to his brother Esau.  He craftily sends the cattle in groups, so that if Esau decides to destroy the first offering of appeasement, or the second, he may soften his heart towards Jacob by the time he gets through all of the peace offering to where Jacob and his family are following behind.
 
As a last desperate act, Jacob sends his wives, children and all of his possessions across the ford of the Jabbok and remains on the other side totally alone.  As dark falls and he is all by himself, a man appears and wrestles with him all night long.  It is not his brother Esau whom he feared, it was a stranger.  Jacob put up a tough fight and the man had to wrench Jaacob's hip in order to get the best of him. Finally at daybreak, the stranger tries to leave and the following conversation takes place:

And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”
And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.- Gen 32:26-29 NKJV

The important thing was not the Lord's name, but the change of name for Jacob.  He went from being "one who grasps" to "one who struggles with God."  It's all in what you try to grab hold of.

Genesis 27-31: Cunning and Conniving

These chapters read like the script for a soap opera.  Something is always going on behind someone else's back.  Rebekah and Jacob conspire to get Isaac to bless Jacob rather than Esau, his favorite, and as the first born the one who should have received Isaac's blessing. Esau is so angry that Jacob has to run away to keep from being killed.  He runs to Laban, Rebekah's brother.  After he has worked seven years to win the hand of Rachel, the woman he loved, he wakes up the morning after the wedding to see that it was Leah, the weak eyed sister he has bedded instead.  Laban then extracts a promise from Jacob to work an additional seven years for Rachel, After that time, Laban will still not let his daughters go, so Jacob performs his own trickery, promising to give Laban all of the unmarked goats and figuring out a way to make sure that all of the goats born are speckled or spotted. 
In the meantime, The women are having jealousies, each sending their servants to sleep with Jacob so he will have their children and constantly taunting each other;  Leah taunts Rebekah because she can have children and Rebekah cannot, and Rebekah taunts Leah that she is loved by Jacob rather than Leah.  Then there is the story of the mandrakes, a supposed seasonal aphrodisiac.  When Leah's son Reuben finds mandrakes, a plant that was said to provide soothing sleep, heal wounds, induce love, and facilitate pregnancy,  Rachel trades Leah a night with Jacob for a portion of the mandrakes.  It didn't do Rachel any good, Leah was the one who became pregnant again.
Where does all of this conniving end.  With the one who ran away from his brother now running away from his father-in-law.  Jacob may have prospered; he has many wives and children, great herds of cattle, but he is still running.  He is trying to move a large company with Laban in hot pursuit and one of his wives has stolen Laban's gods.  Each act of cunning has resulted in an even greater act of conniving.

Genesis 22-26: God will provide

The story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac is a familiar one.  Trusting God, that is something that Abraham had learned to do through trial and error perhaps, but by the time Isaac was a young boy, he had walked with God long enough that he knew the God he trusted.  So when Isaac ask him where the sacrificial lamb was, the first thing that came out of his mouth was that God would provide the lamb for the burnt offering.  A few years later, when it became time to get a wife for his son Isaac, Abraham still knew that God would provide.  And he provided Rebekah from Abraham's own family line.  With the exception of Isaac, Abraham's faith in God's ability to provide contrasts sharply with that of his descendants and relatives.  Isaac must have learned the lesson well, because later when the second famine comes to the land, he refuses to go down to Egypt because he knew that the Lord would provide.  Abraham leaned his lesson about what scheming produces, but that lesson failed to be passed down.  Isaac had a taste for the wild and loved his wild son Esau who was more interested in the here and now than in waiting for God's provision.  He sold his birthright for some stew just because he was hungry at that moment. Always the impatient one, Esau finally married two local Hittite women.  Was he so busy out hunting and fishing that he didn't think about a wife until he was forty years old?  By that time, and rather than sending off for a wife like his mother, from his own family lineage, he chose two local women who were a constant source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.  So much for hasty, untrusting decisions.

Genesis 18-21: The right choice

Abraham entertains three visitors and they tell him that by the same time next year, Abraham and Sarah will have a son.  At this Sarah laughs, as would any woman in their nineties.
And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”  Gen 18:13-14 NKJV
As an aside, just as the men were leaving Abraham's tents, they looked over and saw Sodom and Gomorrah.  There had been rumors of what was going on in those fair cities...rumors may have even reached Abraham's ears.  Abraham knew the Lord and his demand of righteousness.  He may have feared for Lot before, but now his ears really perked up.  Something was going to happen, and it probably wasn't going to be good. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?  Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  Gen. 18:23-25 NKJV
After a bit of haggling, God promised Abraham that if only ten righteous people could be found in Sodom, he would not destroy it.
These two incidents may seem unrelated, but they are not.  Earlier, when Abram and Lot's herds grew to be more than their land could support, they went their separate ways, and Lot chose to live among the cities of the Jordan plain while Abram remained in Canaan.  The plain was like a well watered garden with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah shining as the crowning jewels.  If you looked closer, you would see that their prosperity barely covered the stench of their wickedness, but they were beautiful to look at.  Their beauty and prosperity was so attractive that when the angel of the Lord told Lot the cities would be destroyed and to get his family out of Dodge, Lot could not even convince his two son-in-laws that they should leave.  Abraham might have been counting on Lot and his family to be the ten who had not succumbed to the cities charms, but even they had been caught up in the prevailing lifestyle. All Lot could muster to leave with him were his wife and two daughters.  Even then, after they left the city, Lot's wife could not resist looking back with longing at all she was leaving behind and you know what happened to her. 
There is a recurring theme in the New Testament that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  (Romans 4, Galatians 3, James 2) Abraham certainly wasn't perfect, He was always lying about Sarah being his wife, he had a child with his wife's servant, and his wife laughs at emissaries of the Lord.  But he believed God and that set him apart from all of those in the beautiful cities who had chosen to believe in their own works and prosperity.

Genesis 12-17: A Blessing

Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  - Gen 12:1-3 NKJV
Part of this blessing was very evident to Abram shortly after the Lord spoke to him.  He began to wander.  He went from place to place and back again, building altars along the way.  Abram could see in his wanderings that blessing and curses went with him.  He saw Pharaoh's house become diseased when Pharaoh took Sarai for his wife.  He rescued Lot and a host of others when they were captured by the four kings who took Sodom and Gomorrah.  Sometimes when he stopped wandering long enough to build an altar, the Lord would speak to him again as in Genesis 15 when God tells Abram "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”.  But by this time, Abram no longer believed the Lords promise that he would become a great nation.  It seemed that the only possibility of descendants lay with Hagar, his wife's servant.   
That was not what the Lord God had in mind  He said he would make his name great,  but in order for Abram and Sarai to have offspring, their names would have to be changed.  Their new names, Abraham and Sarah, retained the roots of their former names, but Abram which means 'father' became 'father of many' and Sarai which means 'princess' became 'princess of multitudes'.  A name change and the whole of their story would be different.

Genesis 9-11: A Covenant

And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:  I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.  Gen 9:12-13 NKJV

The word covenant is first used in Chapter 6 when God tells Noah he will keep his family safe through the flood, but in Chapter 9, the word covenant is used repeatedly.  And to seal the deal, God puts a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant.  There are several uses of the word covenant.  According to Wikipedia, "a covenant is, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. A covenant is a type of contract in which the covenantor makes a promise to a covenantee to do or not do some action." 

A covenant therefore is a contract, a vow, just like a marriage vows is a contract, a contract that is forever binding.  In our day and age, though, we treat covenants more like resolutions, vows that are made to be broken. We go into a new year full of resolve to lose weight, exercise more, be a better person, but two or three weeks later we're back to our old ways.  But not God.  The covenant in Genesis 9 was with the whole of his creation and he promised that never again would the world be destroyed by flood.  So that begs the question, "How big is God?"  Is he bigger than the threat of global warming.  Will cities be flooded by man's influence on the environment, by melting ice caps, or will God's promise remain.

Genesis 7-8: Shutting the Door

This is not the simple story that we learned as children in Sunday School where all of the animals went two by two into the ark.  This is a story of finality.  God had given his creation the best including long lives and as it says in the previous chapter: "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart."  Gen 6:5-6 NKJV

God had finally had it with his creation, and determined he would close the door on all of his creation with the exception of Noah, the only godly man left.  And that is what he did...he shut the door tight on the party goers and revelers, on the people building their barns, cooking their gourmet dinners, moving money in and out of their IRA's and visiting Disneyland.

Genesis 4-5: Stop and Listen

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.  So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Gen 3:22-24 - NKJV

Genesis Three ends with God putting guards at the entrance to the Garden of Eden to guard the path to the tree of life.  No one was going to get past the cherubim with the flaming sword flashing back and forth to eat of its fruit.  Is it any wonder then, that Genesis Four is a story of disobedience which eventually ends in murder. In the New International Version, God asks Cain  "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."  Gen 4:6-7.  It appears that knowledge did Cain no good.   How many times do we find ourselves doing the same thing.  The Apostle Paul says I know what to do, but I don't do it   Romans 7:19 - NIV  God could have stopped the whole thing there, but already it appears he gave man the choice.  Cain went on with life and had children.  Adam's new son, Seth had children as well.  If you look at the genealogy of the two sons, they are very similar.  Cain's descendants included Enoch who bore Irad; and Irad  bore Mehboujael, and Mehujael bore Methushael, and Methushael bore Lamech.  Seth's genealogy includes Enoch who bore Methuselah and Methuselah, who lived to be Nine hundred and eighty nine, bore Lamech.  Its interesting that Methuselah's name includes the word "selah" that is found frequently in the Bible, but the meaning of which has never been authenticated.  Many suggest however that it may mean 'stop and listen' or  'to measure.'  And that is exactly what happened.
Lamech's son was Noah and we know how wicked the people had become by his time.  It was then, when men were living to be almost a thousand years old, that God decided that he was tired of "striving with men" and would limit their days on earth.  How frustrated he must have been with his creation.  What he had  not given them, "knowledge" they had taken and the length of years that they were privileged to, had been turned into license to sin in every imagined way.  He was so fed up with man that he would have wiped them off  the face of the earth if it had not been for Noah.

Genesis 1-3: Breath of Heaven

Genesis 1-3 Audio

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. - Gen. 2:7 NKJV

 I read this verse and I think of the chorus to the Amy Grant song "Breath of Heaven" or "Mary's Song"

 Breath of heaven, Hold me together,

Be forever near me, Breath of heaven.

Breath of heaven, Lighten my darkness,

Pour over me your holiness, For you are holy.

We had the opportunity once, back at creation, to be what God intended us to be.  He had given us the Breath of Heaven, and everything that we could possibly ever want or need lay before us there, including the tree of life sitting right next to the tree of knowledge.  

The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.  And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen 2:8-9  - NKJV

But, we chose the tree of knowledge instead of the tree of life, and we've been chasing after knowledge, of both good and evil, ever since, as if it would compensate for life.  We should know by now that knowledge is a second rate substitute for life, but we continue to pursue it at any cost.  It doesn't matter how much knowledge we have about cancer, diabetes, or heart attacks, our knowledge will never be able to stave off death.  And in our quest to prolong this physical life, we risk the possibility of losing our eternal life.  Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  He knew what he was talking about.  He was there at the creation and knew the difference between the tree of knowledge and the tree of life.  We can choose between the two, but we have to go back to the very beginning of ourselves, we have to be re-created, reborn in order to partake of the tree of life.