The significance of genealogies and Jacob’s family tree (Gen 46:8-27)
Gen 46:8-27 Genealogies are possibly the most boring parts of the Bible for us, modern readers, but they have an essential function for ancient people. We tend to think of family trees as purely information about who relates to whom,…
Can it be God’s plan, if things go wrong later? (Gen 46:1-47:12)
Gen 46:1-34; 47:1-12 An Old Testament lecturer of mine once suggested that Jacob should have returned to Canaan after the famine and never have settled in Egypt. While I felt that this interpretation was mistaken, it does touch on an…
Trust in the overruling providence of God (Gen 45:1-28)
Gen 45:1-23 Few narratives in the Old Testament have the same emotional appeal for modern readers as that of Joseph and his brothers. Although the story is well known, it can still move us as it explains a tragic, even…
Love that overcomes jealousy (Gen 44:14-34)
Gen 44:14-34 Being unloved in a family is a hard thing to live with, whether the parents wish they had a child who is a boy rather than a girl or vice versa, or whether one child is preferred over…
Is forgiveness genuine when it has boundaries? (Gen 43:15-44:13)
Gen 43:15-34; 44:1-13 I once heard a pastor discuss the prevalence of sexual abuse cases in the Church. He suggested that Christians are often soft targets for such offenders. In other words, it is not that religious people are somehow…
The path to a flourishing life (Gen 43:1-14)
Gen 43:1-14 Back in my single days, I rather liked a guy. We were in the same church and good friends, but the friendship never developed into anything more. As our circumstances changed and our lives went their different ways,…
The slow process of change (Gen 42:18-38)
Gen 42:18-38 Every once in a while, we encounter someone who has undergone a dramatic change in a short period of time, but for most of us, transformation is a slow and often painful process. I suspect that even for…
The first steps in reconciliation (Gen 42:1-25)
Gen 42:1-25 It is often argued that forgiveness is important because harbouring bitterness against those who wronged us causes harm to ourselves, so that it is in our best interest to forgive others irrespective of whether they repent of their…
How to handle success well? (Gen 41:37-57)
Gen 41:37-57 The story of pastors leading megachurches or tele-evangelists who acquire world-wide fame and enormous success and then fall into sin has become almost a cliché these days. Handling the adulation of the masses, living with others’ worshipful deferment…
How to respond to God’s providence? (Gen 41:1-36)
Gen 41:1-36 A young pastor who was just starting his ministry was particularly busy one week and neglected sermon preparation. He consoled himself with the truth that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, who ‘will teach you in that very hour…