Genesis 27 – 29 and More Dehydrating

Genesis 27 – 29

Genesis 27 is a perfect illustration of why parents should not have favorites when it comes to their children. Maybe, to look for the positive, the boys were lucky each had a parent pulling for them. Isaac clearly favored his firstborn; Rebekah clearly favored her younger son.

In a blatant act of deceit and lies, Jacob stole the blessing Isaac intended to give his brother. Isaac must have been very old and blind. He kind of knew something wasn’t right but Jacob and Rebekah did a good job making Jacob not only smell like Esau, but also feel like him.

No one can blame Esau for being angry, but Isaac doesn’t come out looking too well in this episode. If the shoe had been on the other foot and Esau had received his blessing, Jacob would have been left with no blessing. Why would Isaac intend to overlook his younger son in this?

I think Esau goes a little far in blaming Jacob for stealing his birthright; he’s the one who despised it to the point that he exchanged it for a meal.

This chapter also gives us a pretty good look at what might be the first example of witness protection – well, not witness exactly, but getting out of town to avoid a certain confrontation.

Rebekah, who was unusually well-informed about what was going on in her household and “sick of these Hittite women,” convinces Isaac to send Jacob back to where her family lives so he can find a wife there. Isaac sends him away with a prayer that God would pass on to Jacob the blessings he promised to Abraham.

Isn’t it interesting that Esau finally catches on that his parents don’t like the local Canaanite women, so he takes on another wife, Mahalath, daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael?

On his way to Paddan-Aram, God confirms his covenant with Jacob at Bethel, where Jacob saw a stairway with angels ascending and descending. Jacob commits himself to God here and sets up a memorial pillar to become a place for worshiping God. He promises God a tenth of everything God gives him.

When Jacob arrives in Paddan-Aram, it’s another case of love at first sight. Jacob promises to work seven years if Laban will give him Rachel as his wife. Still, Jacob’s love for Rachel was “so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.” He didn’t realize that Laban was a scoundrel.

Imagine how Jacob felt when he discovered the woman that was his wife was Rachel’s older sister Leah. I guess he got a taste of his own medicine – think how he had deceived his father. I’ve always felt kind of sorry for Leah; Jacob loved Rachel much more than Leah. However, if you think that the Lord rewarded Leah in making her the grandmother (many times removed) of the Messiah through her son Judah, maybe it wasn’t so bad. And for a while, Rachel was unable to have children at all.

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 30 – 31.

Drying Some More Strawberries

This morning, I went to the produce stand and got a couple of more quarts of these wonderful strawberries that are in such abundance around here right notw. They are already cleaned and sliced and in the dehydrator.

I saw on the Internet yesterday that you can actually dry cucumbers. I may try that next or possibly some cranberries. The dried cranberries you buy are filled with extra sugar and are still tart. Imagine what un-sugared dried cranberries will taste like. Talk about pucker power.

Until next time…

Genesis 25 – 26 and Haywire

Genesis 25 – 26

Abraham, probably lonely after the death of Sarah, makes a lady named Keturah as his second wife. She bears him six sons, Abraham is careful to make sure no one can lay claim to anything he owned except Isaac. However, he did provide for his other children, even those of his concubines and then “sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.”

At 175 years of age, Abraham dies “at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying age.” He is buried in the same cave where Sarah was buried – the cave of Machpelah. Note it says his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. Don’t you wonder what kind of relationship the two half-brothers had. There had to be animosity, whether acknowledged or not. Imagine you are Ishmael and when you are 13 or so, a brother is born who takes away your father’s attention. Your brother is the obvious favorite and poised to inherit everything. I’m sure both mourned their father’s passing, but I doubt they lifted up each other or encouraged each other.

The Scriptures do not ignore Ishamel, but mention a number of his descendants. They describe his descendants as living “in open hostility toward all their relatives.”

I wonder if Isaac was jealous of Ishmael’s children. We know Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of Rebekah, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered his prayer by giving Rebekah twin boys. And here’s another instance of discord between siblings before they are even born.

Rebekah, a woman of prayer, asked God why the two struggled with each other in her womb. The Lord gives her a lot of information about the twins:

• They will become two nations
• The two nations will be rivals
• One nation will be stronger than the other
• The older son will serve the younger

Sure enough, Rebekah gave birth to twins – apparently fraternal and not identical. The oldest, Esau, was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. Jacob came out of the womb second, his hand grasping Esau’s heel.

The situation goes from bad to worse. Not only are the boys very different in appearance and in temperament, but their animosity toward each other is evident from the beginning.

Esau	Jacob
A skillful hunter	Quiet temperament
An outdoorsman	Preferred to stay at home
Isaac’s favorite	Rebekah’s favorite

When Esau arrived home “exhausted and hungry,” Jacob was cooking some red stew. It must have smelled delicious. Esau asks his brother for some of the “red” stew (this is where he gets his other name, Edom, meaning red). Jacob says he’ll do it if Esau gives him his rights as the firstborn son.

Was Esau really “dying of starvation” or was he just being dramatic. Can’t you just see him saying, “What good is my birthright to me now?” Jacob makes Esau swear an oath that he gets Esau’s birthright. The writer of Genesis describes this as: “He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.” Hebrews 12:14 references this situation as follows: “Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.”

Can we say “like father, like son?” Isaac uses one of his father’s tricks and passes Rebekah off as his sister. Is this the same Abimelech that Abraham tried to fool? Isaac is found out and Abimelech confronts him about it, but it doesn’t seem as if either Isaac or Rebekah suffered as a result. Instead, Abimelech proclaims, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

God certainly blesses Isaac, so much that the Philistines become jealous of him. Eventually, Abimelech asks Isaac to leave the country (I wonder if the trick Isaac played had anything to do with the decision.) Isaac moves his family to the Gerar Valley where Abraham had been, reopening the wells his father had dug. Just as now, water was an important resource. Eventually, Isaac moved to Beersheba where the Lord appears to him on the night of his arrival re-affirming God’s covenant with Abraham. Isaac builds an altar there and worships the Lord.

Abimelech clearly looks ahead, realizing God is with Isaac. He makes a covenant with Isaac similar to the one he or some similarly-named Abimelech made with Abraham.

Remember how important it was to Abraham that Isaac not marry a Canaanite woman? Esau takes two Hittite wives, who make life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 27 – 29.

Haywire

Today, I saw the movie Haywire with Gina Carano, Michael Angarano, Channing Tatum, and Michael Douglas. It was a thriller with lots of twists and turns. I recommend it.

The strawberries I dried yesterday are wonderful. I think I’m going to do some more next week.

Genesis 22 – 24 and Drying Strawberries

Genesis 22 – 24

Chapter 22 is one of my favorite passages, since it shows God’s great provision for us.

From what we’ve read, we know that Abraham had been waiting many years to have a son with Sarah, as God had promised him. We can only imagine how delighted he was when Isaac, the son of promise, was born.

From this passage, we learn that God tested Abraham’s faith, and since he tested Abraham’s faith, we can be pretty sure that he will do the same with any believer.

We don’t know if God physically appeared to Abraham, but Abraham certainly heard God’s voice. I’m sure it wasn’t what he wanted to hear either. God told him to take his son – and note how God describes that son:

• “Your only son” Isaac
• Whom you love

God tells him to “go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will show you.

God did not want to give Abraham an out, i.e., he did not want Abraham to think he could sacrifice Ishmael. He spoke clearly and concisely that it was to be Isaac.

Did Abraham wait around and make excuses for not leaving right away. No, the Bible says he left the next morning with two of his servants and his son, Isaac. He was not going to take a chance there would be no wood for the burnt offering, so he chopped the wood before he left.

Now, Moriah was a 3-day journey and those three days must have been agony for Abraham. He knew what a burnt offering meant, how painful it would be for Isaac, but he was obedient and did as God said.

When he arrives, he tells his servants to wait with the donkey, he places the wood on Isaac’s shoulders, and carries the knife and the fire up the mountain.

Isaac is a bright kid and says to Abraham, “We have the fire and the wood, … but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” Abraham demonstrates his faith by saying, “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son.” And, he did.

Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us that it was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him, because “Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.”

Legend says that Mount Moriah is known today as Calvary, where Jesus was sacrificed. He also was brought back from the dead. What a picture of God’s love, provision and redemption.

In view of how Abraham obeyed God, God re-confirms His covenant that He will multiply Abraham’s descendants beyond number, but He adds an addition provision: “And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

Soon after this happens, Abraham hears that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife had borne Nahor eight sons (Genesis 11:29ff mentions Nahor and Milcah). You might recall that, when Abraham’s father Terah left Ur of the Chaldeans with Abraham, Nahor did not go with them.

After bearing Isaac and seeing him grow into an adult, Sarah dies, and Abraham asks the Hittite elders if they will sell him a piece of land so he can give her a proper burial. He arranges to buy the cave of Machpelah from Ephron son of Zohar. Remember how Abraham would not take any of the recovered goods from the king of Sodom because he did not want anyone to say they had made him rich. Although Ephron offers to give Abraham the cave, Abraham insists he pay the full price for it and makes sure it is done in front of witesses.

Now, Abraham actually owns a small piece of the land of Canaan.

In chapter 24, Abraham, a very old man by now, asks his oldest servant to take an oath. (Did you see that the servant placed his hand under Abraham’s thigh in acknowledgment of that oath instead of a handshake as we would do?) The servant agrees to go to Abraham’s homeland (where Nahor stayed) and find a wife for Isaac. He made it clear that he did not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman.

Abraham’s servant also relied on the God of his master Abraham as we can see by how he prayed when he got to Abraham’s homeland. What faith! And it works out the way he prays. Rebekah also had a lot of faith. Imagine leaving everyone and everything you are familiar with and traveling with someone you do not know to a place you have never been to marry someone you have never seen. Whew!

The story sounds like something from a real romance novel with genuine love at first sight. The last verse of chapter 24 says “He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.”

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 25 – 26.

Drying Strawberries

Early this morning, I went to a produce stand and bought a half-flat of strawberries. They had just come off the truck and were the freshest, most beautiful strawberries I have ever seen. Using my mandoline, I was able to slice the berries uniformly and fairly quickly. They’ve been drying now for about 6 hours and have just permeated the air in here with a wonderful strawberry aroma.

Tomorrow, I may go see a movie, but we’ll see if the strawberries are done yet.

Until next time…

Genesis 19 – 21

Let me start by saying I’m sorry for such long posts, but I get so excited about what I’m studying, I can hardly stand it.

Genesis 19 – 21

In chapter 19, we find out that the two individuals who were with the Lord when he met with Abraham and who left before the Lord did were two angels. How do you suppose they traveled to Sodom? Did they walk all of the way from where Abraham was living to Sodom?

The angels arrived at Abraham’s place in the hottest part of the day, which means they were there in the afternoon. They came to the entrance of Sodom the same evening. No one knows for sure where Sodom was, but we know from where he was located, Abraham could see columns of smoke rising across the plains toward Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen. 19:28).

For that matter, how do angels generally go from place to place? Do they fly? We know they walked away from Abraham and that they “came to the entrance of Sodom” where Lot was sitting. If they hadn’t been walking when they entered the city, I think the text would have mentioned it.

We know Abraham negotiated with God about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, finally stopping when he persuaded God to agree He would not destroy the city if TEN righteous people could be found. In chapter 19, we find there were, at most, four righteous people in Sodom – though maybe we shouldn’t assume Lot’s wife was righteous since she was destroyed on her way out of the city.

The actions of the “all the men of Sodom” make it evident that there really was a sin problem in Sodom. They wanted Lot to release his two visitors so they could have sex with them. Note that they did not care whether the two visitors wanted this or not. Lot knew this was “wicked,” but to protect the men, he offers up his two virgin daughters. The men of Sodom have no interest in the young women. The Sodomites then threaten Lot with worse than they were going to do to the visitors.

The two angels pull Lot into the house and bolt the door, then blind all of the men who were trying to get inside. Although the angels were not in Mamre when Abraham was negotiating, they knew what God wanted all along (see Genesis 19:29). They tell Lot they are going to destroy the city and urge him to take any of his relatives out of the city. Since his daughter’s fiancés think he is joking, only FOUR individuals leave the city before it is destroyed: Lot, his wife, and his daughters.

I’ve heard a lot of sermons on Lot’s wife looking back on the city and why she was turned into a pillar of salt. Was it because she was curious? Did she long for her previous life in the city (she must have traveled with Lot before they settled in Sodom)? The bottom line is that she was disobedient. The angels clearly warned them not to look back. She did it anyway.

The angels allow Lot to go to the village of Zoar, but he doesn’t stay there because he is afraid of the people. Instead he takes his daughters and goes to live in a cave in the mountains. The two daughters get him drunk – it probably wasn’t hard to do – and get pregnant by him. Hence, Moab and Ammon are born. We’ll run into the Moabites and Ammonites later in our reading.

What do we really learn from the story of Lot? According to 2 Peter 2:6-10, we learn that “the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.” We also learn that “He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.” Wow!

The Bible doesn’t say if Abraham and Lot meet face to face again.

Abraham apparently didn’t learn his lesson in Egypt, since he passes off Sarah as his sister again. But, in this instance, God visits King Abimelech of Gerar and warns him Sarah is already married. The king does the right thing, maybe even more than the right thing, since he gives Abraham 1000 pieces of silver to compensate for any wrong he might have done him. Abraham prays for Abimelech, his wife and her female servants so they could have children.

Chapter 21 begins with the birth and circumcision of Isaac (meaning “he laughs”), just as God had promised. From there we see trouble in the form of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah’s very human attempt to provide a son for Abraham through Hagar means there is someone with whom Abraham already has a relationship, someone who may take attention from her son Isaac. Seeing Ishmael make fun of Isaac, Sarah demands that Abraham make Hagar and Ishmael leave. In spite of his sadness at the thought, Abraham obeys God and does as Sarah says.

God comes to Hagar when she is at the end of her rope – has He ever done that with you? He reassures her and provides for her and Ishmael. Ishmael becomes a skillful archer and settles in the wilderness of Paran. His mother eventually arranges a marriage for him with a woman from Egypt.

Abraham makes a covenant with Abimelech stating he will never deceive him, his children or any of his descendants – can’t blame him for that, seeing as how Abraham had deceived him in the past – and that he will be loyal to him. They agree near a well, which is subsequently named Beersheba (well of the oath). Abraham plants a tamerick tree there and worships the Lord.

Then the Scriptures say (Gen 21:34): “And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country for a long time.” Yes, this is the man to whom God gave the whole of the land of Canaan, yet he lives there as a foreigner. Think of what God has given us that we have not yet seen happen.

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 22 – 24.

It’s raining today, so I’m going to wait until tomorrow to get my strawberries. Right now, I’m kind of waiting for my Cabbage Casserole to get done. It’s in my overcrowded crock pot – maybe, I should have gotten one larger than 2 quarts. We used to eat this at college and though a lot of people complained, I really liked it. It’s got shredded cabbage, browned ground beef, onions, peppers, jalapenos (we didn’t get any of that in college), tomato sauce, rice, and chicken broth (it called for water). It’s smelling pretty good right now, but we’ll see.

Until next time…

Genesis 16 – 18

In chapter 16, we see the results of people trying to make things happen by taking matters into their own hands. Ten years after Abram settled in the land of Canaan, Sarai, who couldn’t have children of her own, urges her husband to marry her maid Hagar. She figured to have children through Hagar. Abram, who wanted a son of his own so his inheritance would not be passed down to a servant in his household (Eliezer of Damascus … see Gen. 15:2), goes along with Sarai, even though he had to know it was not the right thing to do.

When Hagar gets pregnant, here attitude changes and she begins to treat Sarai with contempt. Sarai, being human, blames everything on Abram, even saying the Lord would show who’s wrong – her or him. Abram, who apparently has no affection for Hagar, tells Sarai to do with Hagar as she wants. She treats her so harshly that Hagar runs away.

Put yourself in Hagar’s shoes. She was a servant, not given a choice about having a child with Abram. No wonder she held Sarai and probably Abram in contempt.

Well, the Lord wasn’t having any of that. The angel of the Lord finds Hagar in the wilderness along the road to Shur and convinces her to return to Sarai and submit to Sarai’s authority. This doesn’t come without reward. He promises Hagar more descendants than she can count, that her son will be a wild man. Considering his circumstances, it’s not hard to believe that he will “raise his fist against everyone and everyone will be against him.”

The Lord is watching out for Hagar. Every time Hagar speaks or hears her son Ishmael’s name, she will be reminded that “the Lord hears.”

Chapter 17 is a pivotal part of Genesis and the Bible. El-Shaddai, God Almighty, appears to Abram and makes an everlasting covenant with him: He will guarantee him countless descendants. He will make Abram the father of a multitude on nations. He changes Abram’s name to Abraham, which means father of many nations. Would this be hard for Abram believe? Remember, he’s ninety-nine years old. He again tells Abram He is giving him and his descendants the entire land of Canaan.

With most covenants both parties have responsibilities. Abraham must obey the terms of the covenant: each male in his household, including servants and purchased foreign-born servants must be circumcised. This circumcision was the mark of God’s everlasting covenant. God sure didn’t make it easy on Abraham, did he?

Not only is Abram’s name changed to Abraham, but Sarai also gets a new name: Sarah meaning mother of many nations. Kings will be among her descendants. God promises Sarah will give Abraham a son. Abraham apparently can’t believe his ears – he brings up Ishmael, but God sets him straight: it will be Sarah’s son and his descendants who will be part of the everlasting covenant.

God reassures Abraham that Ishmael will be the father of 12 princes and He will make him a great nation, but the everlasting covenant was with Isaac, who would be born to Sarah about a year from then.

Abraham is immediately obedient. He takes his thirteen-year-old son Ishmael and every male in his household and circumcises himself and them.

We don’t know how God appeared to Abraham when He established the everlasting covenant, but we do know God reaffirms this covenant at a later day. Three men come to Abraham’s tent and he treats them with great hospitality. Sarah, again acting very humanly, overhears one of the men tell Abraham that he will return in about a year and Sarah will have a son.

Imagine how she felt. Wouldn’t you laugh if you were that old? Isn’t it neat that she thinks “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master –my husband—is also so old?” When The Lord asks Abraham why Sarah laughs, she denies she did it, but the Lord refutes that.

We see Abraham as a great negotiator when God tells Abraham He will be destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because of their flagrant sin. He gets the Lord to say He will not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if He finds only TEN righteous people. Why was Abraham concerned about this? His nephew Lot lived in Sodom.

Next time, we’ll be reading Genesis 19 – 21.

Until next time…

Genesis 12 - 15 and Muslim Population Video

Please watch this video about the increase in Muslim population:

Genesis 12 – 15

Wow, we’re back in Genesis already, back to the book of beginnings. If you recall, chapter 11 covered the scattering of the people after God confused the people with different languages. That must have been scary.

The Bible zooms in on one genealogical line, that of Abram, tracing this line from Adam and Eve’s third son, Shem to him.

Did you realize that Abram was one of triplets? I don’t think I ever noticed it before. Genesis 11:26 says, “When Terah was 70 years old, he had become the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.”

We pick up the family in Ur of the Chaldeans where Haran was born and died at a fairly early age, but at an age where he had fathered at least one son, who was named Lot.

Terah decided to move to the land of Canaan so he left Ur and and traveled that way, taking with him Abram, Abram’s wife Sarai, and his grandson Lot. Apparently, Nahor and his family were left behind. He only got as far as Haran and settled there instead. In fact, at age 205, he died in Haran.

Chapter 12 begins with the Lord telling Abram to leave his native country, his relations, and his father’s family and go to a land He would show him.

Genesis doesn’t say how the Lord communicated with Abram. Did He appear bodily? Did He speak to him in a dream? We can’t answer these questions, but we do know that Abram obeyed. Hebrews 11 says that Abram obeyed God even though he did not know where he was going. Let’s face it, Abram was probably like we are and wanted to know exactly where he was going and what would happen when he got there, but in spite of that Abram OBEYED God.

He took his wife, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth and headed for the land of Canaan (the place his father was on his way to when he stopped in Haran).

There’s a slight problem about Canaan: it’s already inhabited by Canaanites. However, God tells Abram that He will give this land to his descendants (note: he does not say to Abram). Here, we are told God appeared to Abram.

Abram’s response is to build an altar at Shechem where he ended up at first and dedicate it to the Lord.

Then, Abram travels around a bit, setting up camp between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He builds another altar and worships the Lord. Then he travels south “by stages toward the Negev.” He had quite a crew with him and I imagine setting up camp was something of a challenge. He was a wealthy man with livestock and all of the people who had joined his household in Haran.

The next part of what happens puzzles me. Here is Abram, a man of great faith, who worships God, who has even seen and heard from God, and he apparently doesn’t have enough faith in God’s provision to keep Sarai and himself safe. A famine in Canaan forces Abram to go to Egypt and “live as a foreigner.” He convinces Sarai, who must have been gorgeous, to pretend that she is his sister so the Egyptians would kill him so they could have her.

The Egyptians told Pharaoh about Sarai and she “was taken into his palace.” They were so taken with Sarai that they gave Abram “many gifts because of her.” What exactly does “taken into his palace” mean? We can only guess. Perhaps it was a good thing that Sarai was barren.

In any case, the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai. Needless to say, Pharaoh is really ticked and has his people escort Abram and Sarai and his household and his possessions out of Egypt.

Abram goes back north into the Negev, back to the spot between Bethel and Ai where they had camped before. While there, disputes between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. There just wasn’t enough land to support both of their households, to say nothing of the fact that the Canaanites and Perizzites also lived in the land.

Since Abram doesn’t want to fight with Lot, he gives Lot his choice of the land. Lot chooses the fertile, well-watered plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. He moves his tents to a place near Sodom and settles among the cities of the plain. According to the text, “…the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.”

In the meantime, the Lord tells Abram that He is giving the land he can see in every direction to him and his descendants as a permanent possession. He says he will give Abram so many descendants they will not be able to be counted. He tells him to walk through the land in every direction.

Abram moves hi camp to Hebron and settles near the oak belonging to Mamre. And, yes, he built an altar to the Lord there also.

The Middle East today is rife with folks fighting with each other. As we can see by the story, that is nothing new. The upshot is that Lot, who lived in Sodom, was carried off with everything he owned.

Just like in the story of Job, one of Lot’s men escapes and reports to Abram. Note he is called “Abram the Hebrew.” With his friend Mamre the Amorite and Mamre’s relatives, Abram pursued the captors and recovered not only Lot, but all the goods that had been taken.

(Aren’t these chapters just full of adventure and excitement?)

We are now introduced to Melchizedek, “king of Salem (maybe, Jerusalem) and a priest of God Most High” who brings Abram some bread and wine and a wonderful blessing:

“Blessed by Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.”

Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he recovered.

The king of Sodom wants Abram to keep everything he recovered except the people, but Abram refuses, not wanting anyone to be able to say, “I am the one who made Abram rich.” He does make sure a fair share goes to his allies.

When God reaffirms his covenant to Abram, this time in a vision, Abram asks what good blessings are since he does not have any children.

God tells Abram to look up into the sky (it must have been nighttime) and count the stars – that’s how many descendants he will have.

A very important concept is stated in verse 6: “Abram believed the Lord and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

In spite of Abram’s belief, he asks the Lord how he can be sure he will actually possess it? In a very dramatic way, God “proves” He means what He says. Maybe, more importantly, God tells Abram that not only will he have descendants, but they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. Abram will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.

Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 16 – 18.

Until next time…

Job 40 – 42 and Dehydrating Mushrooms

Job 40 – 42

The last three chapters are very interesting. After God demonstrates His power to Job with a series of questions Job can’t answer, God asks Job if he still wants to argue with the Almighty. “You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Needless to say, Job is very humbled by God’s words. He even says he is nothing. “…how could I ever find the answers? I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”

Well, God has a few more things to say to Job and a few more rhetorical and instructive questions for him. God mentions two fairly scary creatures: Behemoth and Leviathon.

Characteristics of Behemoth:

• Made by God
• Eats grass like an ox
• Has powerful loins and belly muscles
• Tail as strong as a cedar
• Sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together
• Bones are tubes of bronze
• Limbs are bars of iron
• Prime example of God’s handiwork
• Only its Creator can threaten it
• Mountains offer it their best food
• Lies under lotus plants, hidden by reeds in the marsh
• Lotus plants give it shade among the willows beside the stream
• Not disturbed by the raging river
• Not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it
• No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away

Characteristics of Leviathan:

• Can’t be caught by Job with a hook or a a noose around its jaw
• Can’t be tied by by Job with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike
• Won’t beg Job for mercy or implore him for pity
• Won’t agree to work for Job or be his slave for life
• Can’t be made a pet like a bird
• Can’t be given to Job’s little girls to play with
• Merchants can’t buy it to sell in their shops
• Its hide will not be hurt by spears
• Its head will not be hurt by a harpoon
• Trying to lay a hand on it will certainly make your remember the battle that follows
• Useless to try to capture it
• Will knock down the hunter who attempts to capture it
• God emphasizes Leviathan’s limbs and enormous strength and graceful form
• In regard to its hide:
  • Who can strip it off
  • Who can penetrate its double layer of armor
• Can’t pry open its jaws
• Teeth are terrible
• Scales are like rows of shields, so tightly sealed together no air can get between them
• Each stale sticks tight to the next, interlocking so they cannot be penetrated
• When it sneezes, it flashes light
• Its eyes are like the red of dawn
• Lightning leaps from its mouth
• Flames of fire flash out
• Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes
• Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its nostrils
• The tremendous strength in his neck strikes terror wherever it goes
• Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated
• Its heart is hard as a rock, hard as a millstone
• When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror
• No sword, spear, dart or javelin can stop it
• Iron is nothing but straw to it and bronze like rotten wood
• Arrows cannot make it flee
• Stones shot from a sting are like bits of grass
• Clubs are like a blade of grass
• It laughs at the swish of javelins
• Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass
• It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud
• It makes the water boil with its commotion
• It stirs the depths like a pot of ointment
• Water glistens in its wake making the sea look white
• Nothing on earth is its equal
• No other creature is so fearless
• Of all the creatures, it is the proudest
• It is the king of beasts

Did you ever wonder if dragons were just a legend? It doesn’t sound like it from God’s description of Leviathan. And either of them could be a description of a dinosaur.

When God finishes, Job is convinced, as evidenced by what he says: “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show m repentance.

But God doesn’t stop there. He then reads the riot act to Eliphaz the Temanite. Apparently, Eliphaz and his two friends could also hear and/or see God also. God is angry because the three had not spoken accurately about God. He is a forgiving God though, giving them a way to be forgiven: “So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves.”

Job is part of this because he must offer the sacrifice and pray for his friends. After he prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, per Job 42:10, “…the Lord gave him twice as much as before.” In terms of wealth, Job’s fortunes are restored. In terms of family, God gave Job seven more sons and three daughters. Isn’t it strange that the daughters are named, but not the sons?

And Job was apparently enlightened for his time – he put the daughters in his will along with his sons.

Isn’t it great that he lived to see four generations of his children and grandchildren? Simply said in Job 42:17, “Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.”

Tomorrow, it’s back to Genesis, where we will read Genesis 12 – 15. If you recall, in the last few verses of Genesis 11, we first ran into Abram.

Dehyrdrating Mushrooms

Today, I decided to try out the dehydrator I bought from  Bass Pro Shop in Lawrenceville, GA. Publix was having a sale on pre-washed, sliced mushrooms – two 12-ounce packages for $5.00. I bought their last two packages, which filled three of the five trays in my dehydrator. It’s been going for about foujr hours and the smell is incredible. It’s supposed to take from 6 to 14 hours. I expect it will take closer to the 14-hour mark.

I think the next thing I do will be strawberries. The produce stand over at I-4 and Branch Forbes rose has 1/2 flat of strawberries for $4.99. Prep on these will take much longer, but the mandoline my brother Jeff and his wife Kathy got me for Christmas. I just hope I can keep my fingers out of it.

Yesterday, I had to shred some fresh coconut and managed to do two of them with only nicking my left index finger enough to make typing painful. But, I did end up with 2 – 3 cups of beautiful shredded, unsweetened coconut.

Until next time…