Tag Archives: genesis

You Can’t Bless the World If You Can’t Bless Your Family

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God promised Abraham a family, and told him that his new family would be a blessing to every family in the world. Yet Abraham allows his wife to be taken into another man’s harem, has an affair, then lets his wife treat his mistress poorly. Abraham’s son, Isaac, also allows his wife to be taken into another man’s harem.

Isaac’s son, Jacob, begins a generational legacy of deception. Jacob deceives his brother to steal his birthright, then deceives his father to steal his blessing. Jacob is deceived by his uncle, then deceives his uncle before fleeing from his home. Rachel deceives her father and steals his idols. Jacob’s sons deceive the inhabitants of Shechem and then kill them all. Reuben deceives his father’s third wife into his bed. Joseph’s brothers sell Joseph into slavery, then deceive their father about his fate. Judah deceives Tamar concerning the marriage of his son, then Tamar deceives Judah into her bed.

After 22 years in Egypt, Joseph comes face to face with his brothers, and continues the deception of this broken family. He lies about his identity, then alternatingly steals from them and plants stolen goods on them. Their youngest brother is found with a stolen cup in his pack (using the same language from the Rachel-Laban story), and as far as his brothers know, Benjamin had deceived everyone to steal this prized goblet.

Over the course of several hundred years, we’ve witnessed a family that is supposed to bless the world, but they can’t even get over their own crap and bless one another.

But then Judah stands up. He confesses to Joseph what he had done. He offers to take the place of his supposedly guilty brother Benjamin (just as Judah’s descendant Jesus would do for us). He ends the legacy of deception. Joseph responds by confessing his deceptions, and the family is finally reunited.

Abraham’s descendants were supposed to bless the world. But before they could, they had to get their household in order and learn to bless each other. You, too, are supposed to bless the world. Start today with the people living under your roof.

Encouragement from Genesis

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I recently reread the book of Genesis with several teenagers from the church. While discussing it, the most common thing the students brought up was all the weird and terrible things the main characters kept doing:

  • Abraham lies about his wife being his sister, and she is almost swept into Pharaoh’s harem
  • Lot, while inebriated, impregnates both of his daughters
  • Judah sleeps with (who he assumes is) a prostitute, then tries to have her executed
  • Jacob deceives his father to steal from his brother, then spends twenty years running from God
  • Isaac, like his father, practically sells his wife into an enemy king’s harem to save his own skin

And that’s not the half of it! From cowardice and theft to sexual deviance and murder, they were guilty of it all.

But here’s the beautiful thing… God still blesses them!

Despite their sin, despite their selfishness, despite it all, they are still God’s people.

Why?

Because God made a promise. God promised some idol worshipper named Abram that if he forsook his previous life and followed after the one true God, that God would bless Abram and all his descendants after him (Genesis 12:1-3). And Abram, while certainly not perfect, followed God (Genesis 12:4). Abram, though he occasionally faltered, believed what God had said (Genesis 15:6). And God kept His promise.

And an entire family, an entire people, an entire nation was blessed because of it.

And the Lord said, “I will be with you and bless you. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 26:2-5)

There are two lessons to learn from this:

  1. You are blessed because God made a promise.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably not perfect. You make mistakes. You slip up. But guess what? In spite of all that, God will still bless you. Why? Because of someone else’s faithfulness.

If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

  1. The choices you make will bless your family for generations to come.

Over four thousand years ago, some guy in the desert listened to God, and God blessed him. His wife didn’t always listen to God, but God blessed her because anyway. His kids didn’t usually listen to God, but God blessed them anyway. His nephew didn’t listen to God, but God blessed them anyway. His grandkids and great-grandkids ran from God and disobeyed Him, but God blessed them anyway. And four thousand years later, a world that largely ignores God is still being blessed by Him. All because of a promise God made:

In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)

Your obedience affects those around you. Your faithfulness will transcend your short time on earth. So don’t just live for yourself. Live for your family. Live for your community. Live for the generations that are yet to come. They are counting on you.