My son and me Genesis 27 finds Isaac old and blind. Unsure when he’ll die, he asks Esau to hunt and cook wild game so he can eat and give Esau his blessing. Rebekah overhears this, has Jacob kill a couple goats, and cooks them for Isaac. She covers Jacob with the goat skins and…
Category: Old Testament
Spring
Great Springs National Park in Great Falls, Montana “So Isaac left there, camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there. Isaac reopened the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father…. Then Isaac’s slaves dug in the valley and found a well of spring water there” (Gen. 26:17-19). Isaac reopened…
The Gospel According to Exodus
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And God said to Moses, “Make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among you. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” When Moses set up the tabernacle, he…
Fruitful Hostility
So Isaac left there, camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there. Isaac reopened the water wells that had been dug in the days of his father…. Then Isaac’s slaves dug in the valley and found a well of spring water there” (Gen. 26:17-19). Isaac lived in the realm of king Abimelech. But as…
Struggle
But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb; two people will come from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other,…
Seeing God through the Ashes
Months ago, my wife’s friend plugged a book on social media, The Book of Job: Seeing God through the Ashes, by Melissa Lees. I felt curious for some reason (God?). Perhaps the topic piqued my interest. (People aren’t exactly rushing to exposit Job). Whatever it was, I downloaded a copy to my Kindle. I rarely read modern Christian…
Away
Photo by James Bellwood *** Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac. And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was sill alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East” (Gen. 25:5-6). Isaac was the promised heir from Abraham’s own body (Gen….
The Hebron of God
“Burial of Sarah” by Dore Genesis 23 opens with the death of Sarah. Abraham, being a foreigner, asks the Hittites to sell him the cave at Machpelah for a burial site. The Hittites offer to give Abraham the land because he is “a mighty prince” but Abraham insists on paying the full price (Gen. 23:6,…
Bereavement’s Provision
In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Gen. 22:2). There is tenderness in the way the phrasing builds from…
The Christian’s Electra Complex
Genesis 19 sees the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels who visited Abraham warn Lot about the destruction. Lot flees with his wife and two daughters. Lot’s wife famously looks back and turns into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26). After escaping, Lot lives in the mountains with his daughters. It must’ve been remote…
The Voice of One 