Daily Reading Passages
Click below for access to the passages. Biblegateway.com is an excellent site with many versions of the Bible. The link below opens in NIV.Youversion.com is a new site that allows you to annotate your own Bible, make notes, and comments once you create an account. That link opens in the TNIV version. Other versions are available at both sites.
Coaching Comments
The Old Testament reading today is found in Genesis 32:13 - 34:31. Yesterday we left off with Jacob scared to death about his imminent meeting with his estranged brother, Esau, who had nearly reached him (along with 400 armed men!) Jacob sends out generous gifts hoping to smooth things over. But in the night before the meeting happens, Jacob has a significant moment, a life-changing event. In the darkness an unknown man attacks him, and the wrestle until dawn. The assailant turns out to be God himself! Jacob let the scene with a new limp and a new name. Israel means "He wrestles with God." Think about that every time you hear the word on the news today!
The next day Jacob meets his brother and finds that God has changed his heart. Their meeting is a home-coming after years of separation. Jacob (now Israel) buys a homestead, and everything looks like it worked out in the end.
Unfortunately that was not to be the case. Chapter 34 is a terrible one. One of Jacob's daughters gets kidnapped and raped. When they find out, two of Jacob's sons take things into their own hands. The results read like a revenge-action-thriller. When the whole thing comes down, Jacob corners his sons and asks them why they've done something that would ruin his reputation among the people of the land. But they are unrepentant.
In today's New Testament reading, Matthew 11:7-30, we get Jesus' thoughts on three different topics.
First, Jesus comments about John the Baptist, who was currently in prison and soon to be executed. Remember that John and Jesus are cousins. Second, Jesus comments on the cities he had already visited who had seen His miracles and still rejected him. Strange to consider, but there were people who saw Jesus in the flesh, saw him heal people, and still rejected who He said He was. Third, Jesus reminds us that this new life is all God's gift and that it is available to the normal people -- not the intellectuals, not the specially-trained, not the super-spiritual. But the normal, every-day people. To these people He offers rest of soul. That's you and me.
The Psalms reading for today is the Psalms 14:1-7). This is a pretty dark and succinct characterization of the hearts of mankind. It's all true. And regardless of how it might feel, God sees all of it. The Psalm ends with a yearning that God would lift His hand and protect His children from all this terror. This Psalm is more of a question than an answer, but even that is an encouragement to me. A reminder that our hardest questions are not too hard for God to handle.
Today's reading from Proverbs, Proverbs 3:19-20, have only one purpose. It's just to remind you that God's wisdom is actually worth something. This is His credentials as someone who is wise.
2007 Cohort Comments
Comments (8)
LuDell Parrett said
at 10:21 am on Jan 16, 2009
Genesis 32 brings to mind a few questions... how far into his wrestling with this "man" did Jacob realize that this was God? It is strange that it states, "when the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man." I am not sure why it is written that way? Surely God could overpower anything He wanted to... Was God trying to show Jacob that He would interact with him on his level -- and yet that He DID have the power to overtake if He chose to? Could it be that Jacob finally realized that the "blessing" he received from his father was not properly his -- and that what he REALLY needed was his blessing to come from GOD? For in verse 26 he refuses to let go of this person he is wrestling with until they bless him. He must have realized that this was God at that point. Can you image what an amazing experience that must have been -- to physically have felt God's power in such a way. I also wonder if the majority of the "wrestling" was more of a spiritual battle of Jacob needing to give his will over to God? Lots of questions.
I am touched with God's concern for the intricacies of our lives -- How He changed Jacob's heart through the "wrestling" and made him into a new person "Israel" -- BEFORE he was ready to reunite with his brother Esau. Also how God changed Esau's heart to reunite the brothers. I wonder if Esau was initially going to try and over-take Jacob -- why else would Esau take 400 men with him to meet his brother? So many powerful interventions God shares with us through these pages.
LuDell Parrett said
at 10:31 am on Jan 16, 2009
It seems that reunification, of brother to brother and of God to us, is a HUGE deal to God... and I am blessed to hold that precept in my heart.
I am troubled with Dinah's story though... I know that our culture is very different from theirs but it seems so extreme. When Shechem took Dinah it says that his heart was drawn to her and he loved her and spoke tenderly to her. This does not sound like "rape" from my prospective. I know that she was "defiled" in their culture -- what all does that mean? Was she NEVER To marry after that? Would it have been so terrible for her to have married Shechem? Was there a problem with Jacob's daughter marrying someone who was so ruled by his desires that he threw decorum and honor to the wind?
Again -- sorry for so many questions -- I just am curious and wonder if anyone else has some of these same questions?
LuDell Parrett said
at 10:42 am on Jan 16, 2009
I looked up Dinah in the concordance and the only later entry in the NIV is Genesis 46 where Jacob's family is described -- but no explanation of whether she married or what.
Jim Huddart said
at 12:07 pm on Jan 16, 2009
I agree LuDell, the whole thing with Dinah seems pretty twisted. I imagine a lot of the rage came from the fact that Shechem didn't follow ANY of the traditional protocol demanded by society. In turn that disgraced Dinah and her entire family as well as making her "damaged goods" for future arranged marriage. Furthermore, if Scechem had all this "love" for Dinah - well forced sex and public disgrace seems like an unacceptable and insincere way of showing it. I get the brothers' rage, but the extreme acts of revenge were over the top and took matters out of God's hands and into their own. Never a good idea!
Earlier in Proverbs we are encouraged to seek wisdom and again in today's reading we see the value and power of wisdom. Yet in the NT reading Jesus has a grave warning against the wise and clever. I see this as a warning so that we don't seek wisdom to make us look good or to claim we are wiser than others. I believe we are to seek God's wisdom to flow through us for the purpose of glorifying Him. That way it is clear to all that the wisdom is from God and we are simply using it as a servant's tool to make right choices and do good on God's behalf.
Blessings to you all!
Brittany Ouchida-Walsh said
at 7:00 pm on Jan 16, 2009
The Genesis story was interesting today. It sounds like God and humanity met their match in Jacob. Right or wrong, he was a brilliant at getting his way. What an interested perspective on God, that he can be wrestled down, convinced, convicted, perhaps even manipulated. The writer of the Pentateuch seems to see God that way as Moses and others also talk God out of things and get Him to repent or change his plan. Very fascinating.
Also, the story with Dinah - I think that since the narrator is clear that Shechem took Dinah by force and it was afterward that he decided he liked her and changed his plan - tried the sweet talking instead of rape. In either case, she wasn't really avenged by Jacob and her brothers. Something about Jacob's track record makes it feel like he say an opportunity - clearly he had a plan from the moment it came out that she was raped and everyone played right into it. What I've read is that Shecham did the right thing by offering to marry her - if he didn't marry her, she would not be marryable. What Jacob did silenced her and essentially used her again.
I wonder what God was thinking as this all unfolded. He is perfectly silent for the whole episode as far as the narrator is concerned.
In the NT - I was just touched by how Jesus lists those who benefit by his presence to be the blind, lame, leper, deaf, dead, the poor, and that the infants are the ones who get it. Then I wonder how I fit into all that....
Rich Rawlins said
at 8:08 pm on Jan 16, 2009
I've been sitting here for hours on the computer studying and trying to figure out what to say about today's passages. First, there is just to much going on to comment on in all, so I'm just going to comment on a couple of thoughts that went through my head because of the wrestling match. I have three questions for you guys. 1) Does anyone else besides me feel like the definition of God they were taught may be incorrect? 2) Do you think God has a physical body and why do you believe or disbelieve that? 3) How many Gods are there? I just did a word search in biblegateway for the word gods. The word gods is mentioned 454 times in the bible, of those, 285 is in the OT. Here is the interesting thing. In the OT almost every word is used as a plural, meaning more than one God. As an example, in Exodus 18:11 it states "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." But in the NT it changes to a different kind of use. As an example in 1 Peter 4:10 it states "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. When searching the Internet, it became very obvious to me that there are as many different interpretations of God as there are people who believe in God and they all have a different opinion than I do. I'm now going through the bible and trying to find verses that indicate that God has or lacks physical characteristics. That's going to take a while, so I won't report that here tonight, but so far there is pretty convincing evidence both ways, so now I'm not sure what to think. Thanks for the great comments today LuDell, Brittany and Jim. I like it that you guys are really thinking about stuff here.
...rich
Jim Huddart said
at 11:28 pm on Jan 16, 2009
Talk about thinking about stuff! Rich you have brought a whole new package of thought provocation. Thanks! That's one of the things I like about this study - it pushes me to prayerfully think outside the box and consequently be open to new or different things that God wants me to learn.
Carl, I've missed your input. I assume that you are still with us but just not commenting this past week.
I hope we hear more from you as well Alicia. It would be great to get to know you better.
Everyone that is reading but not commenting - just check in and say Hi every few days so we know you are there. It's not necessary to say much, but you are missed if we don't hear anything. :-)
Blessings and good night!
Marc Schelske said
at 3:10 pm on Jan 18, 2009
Just wanted you to know I'm paying attention. I want to see how the conversation develops before I weigh in. See you tomorrow.
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