Have you ever been betrayed by someone? It is a slow healing wound. Joseph would know it all too well as his brothers betray him, abuse him, and sell him. Joseph needed God’s grace to overcome betrayal. All of us experience events in life that require the grace of God. Learn two things about grace from this passage. The first is that where sin abounds, grace super abounds. The second is that in God’s grace, we learn His strength through our weakness.
Dreamers. There is considerable debate about whether they have meaning. Joseph’s dreams did. They were prophet. In time they would come true. But on this day, the day he told his family, his brothers hated him all the more. Envy and hatred are strong emotions and God will use them to help us see that He will use them to bring about His plan and will for the saving a family, the family He had chosen to be His people, to bring about salvation through His Son, who would be the promised Messiah. As believers, we are called to live in love, to show the world that we are God’s followers and lead others to Christ through our example.
Whether we realize it or not, names tell a story. Rather than skimming over our chapter to what we think is meatier or more substantive stuff, this list of names in Esau’s genealogy tell a story that shows us the consequences of the decisions we make. This chapter gives us a window into Esau’s life and is a challenge for us to learn from.
The passage for today is one that as I read I can’t help but think of my Mom and the kind of godly character she exhibited. Yet, the passage isn’t just for mothers, but for all believers to practice in their lives every day.
Whether we realize it or not, the grace of God is evident throughout our lives. We see it continue to be woven throughout the life of Jacob as God makes him into the man He wants Jacob to become, removing things of his past to prepare him for the future. God’s grace is evident in each of our lives as well.
This is a chapter on grace – God’s grace. Chapter 34 was a dismal display of man’s character apart from God. He is a conniving, deceitful, murderous, lustful shell of a man. In spite of man’s nature as we see in chapter 34, there is always the opportunity to have a chapter 35, the experience of God’s grace for the person who will return to God. It gives us hope. It encourages us to change, to set our faith on the right path, that God invites us to return to a relationship with Him. Journey with Jacob on his way back to Bethel. It’s place where his faith began and where, now, it will be rekindled. It’s your call.
Genesis 34 shows us the devastating effects of not walking by faith. When we allow ourselves to pulled by the world, we learn the truth of I Corinthians 15:33 that bad company corrupts good morals. That certainly seems to evident in this chapter. So what can we learn about standing strong in faith and pointing people to God instead of turning people from God. Romans 12:1-2 give us some pointers. Yield your body, mind and will to Him.
Why believe in Easter? Why believe in the resurrection? It is just as foundational to the gospel as believing that Jesus died for our sins. From our passage Paul gives compelling evidence from the viewpoint of eyewitnesses who saw the resurrected Christ. But then, think for a moment what the consequences would be if Christ had had been raised from the dead? That Christ rose from the dead guarantees that we too, will one day rise from the dead as well.
(We apologize that we don’t have an audio recording of the message. You can visit our Facebook page to view the whole service.)
We are drawn on this Palm Sunday to again consider the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem the week prior to his crucifixion and resurrection. Who were the people around Jesus? What plans did they have for Jesus? And what is our response to Jesus? That is what we will consider as we think about giving hosanna to the King.
Our passage today is a great reminder and call for us to be reconciled with others by trusting God in the matter. Be humble, take the initiative and seek them out to restore a fractured relationship.