Reuben

Well this morning I said I had set little time aside to do any Bible study recently. This afternoon I have done a small amount of Bible reading and have been reading about Jacob and his family. There is one family member who has stuck out significantly for me and he is Reuben.

This name has some family significance for me, being the name of my Godson which may be one of the reasons I picked up on him so much. But Reuben is an incredibly interesting character if you look closely at him. The eldest son of Jacob Reuben had responsibilities and rights above and over the other brothers. However in the Biblical texts Reuben never receives his birthright or blessing. Reuben's birthright is given to Joseph, the favourite, and other rights over the family are ceded to other brothers. Because of this the Kingship of Israel falls to the tribe of Judah and the priesthood to the tribe of Levi.

The reason for this is explained by the Bible as being due to an inappropriate relationship with Bilhah who was Rachel's maid and mother to Dan and Naphtali. In classic rabbinical law this is classed as incest and therefore Reuben was punished for it.

But it is not this that I really was interested in when reading about Reuben, it is his actions and behaviour during the sale of Joseph to the slave traders. It is Reuben who prevents the hot heads from having their way and murdering Joseph straight away and persuades them instead to throw him in the cistern to perish over time. This does not sound much better but the Bible however tells us that it was Reuben's plan to rescue Joseph and return him to their father later. For whatever reason Reuben was obviously not present when Joseph was sold as it is told that sometime later he returned to rescue Joseph and found him gone.

Now I am not sure how other people read this but the impression I get is that as an elder brother Reuben was not all that great. Not only does he fail to stand up for his younger brother he does not seem to have the respect of his siblings. The fact that they sold Joseph without him knowing, or that to "save" Joseph he had to plan a ruse suggests that he held little command as eldest.

The study Bible that I use suggests that Reuben lived tow different lives, his public life and a private life. It expands on the point by saying that Reuben was not able to stand by his convictions, he was not able to push for what he believed to be right. Christians have the tough position of having beliefs and convictions that at times are polar opposite it that of the rest of the world. We need to be able to stand up for our beliefs, we need to stand up for our convictions. It is not enough to just believe something to be true. If you truly believe it then you will stand up for it and make your voice heard even if it means putting yourself at risk.

This is the day

This is the day, so was yesterday, and tomorrow will be too.

Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
    This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

Is it not amazing that God made all of this for us? Everything you can see, everything you can't see and so much more than that. While at university I had the good fortune to learn about the realities of the universe in which we live, how it is constructed and how it works. Let me tell you it is an amazing and wonderful creation. Christians should not be afraid of science, we should embrace it as a way of looking at our Lord's fantastic creation.

God designed and made everything from the finally balanced dance of an electron around an atomic nucleus, to the fusion processes that power stars. He set the galaxies spinning and He tuned the atomic forces. Everything from the tiniest quantum process up to galactic super clusters are in his design. Why should science have a monopoly on such wonders.

Can we be so closed minded as to say, "Oh no God couldn't possibly work like that!". God reminds us in Isaiah 55:

Isaiah 55:8-9
        "I don't think the way you think.
            The way you work isn't the way I work."
                God's Decree. 
        "For as the sky soars high above earth,
            so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
            and the way I think is beyond the way you think." 

We may not be able to understand God's reasoning or God's plans. We may not even be able to understand creation in the end. But God made us like Him:

Genesis 1:26-27
        God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
            reflecting our nature
        So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
            the birds in the air, the cattle,
        And, yes, Earth itself,
            and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." 
        God created human beings;
            he created them godlike,
        Reflecting God's nature.
            He created them male and female. 

We were made in God's image reflecting His nature.God created us Godlike reflecting His nature. Our curiosity is built in to us, we have had since Adam and Eve a thirst for knowledge, a desire to know more about the world God gave us.

Why should we be in conflict with, or afraid of science? As a scientist and a Christian I have yet to find a real conflict between the two. People talk of the age of the earth or evolution as being incompatible with Christianity. Let me point out two things, in the beginning a day would be whatever God defined it to be as a 24 hour day is a product of the spin of the Earth. 7 days in Genesis refers not to 7x24 hours but 7 distinct periods of time. And as for evolution, who are we to tell God how he can do things, who are we to dictate His methods. Look back at Isaiah 55:

        "I don't think the way you think.
            The way you work isn't the way I work."

God gave us the intelligence to see the world and learn about it, He gave us the ability to understand at least a part of it. Why can we not take this knowledge and say "What a mighty God have I" why do we insist on telling God, "No you can't do it that way".

Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

    This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

This is not just the day the Lord has made, it is the world and the universe that Lord has made. Look on it and be amazed, it was by the same hands that were sacrificed and bled that it was made. If we can learn even a small part about it and realise the power our God has, why fight against it. We need to get out of this point of view that science and religion are incompatible. We are taught in the Bible that God made everything and told the story of why, science is just our way of learning some of the hows. Look to science and be amazed, because we have a God who is greater than that, he designed and built it all and understood it all from the very beginning. Do not be scared or offended by science, remember that our God was the first scientist, and will be the last. For He is the alpha and the omega, the creator of it all and He will be there at the end of it all to welcome us into eternity with Him.

Terah and Abram

I have started to read the Bible from cover to cover in order to learn as much as I can about it. I said I was not going to update on it often but would highlight anything I found interesting or that stood out to me. Well the other day I was reading my way through Genesis, which by the way I am still reading, when I found this passage.

Genesis 11:31-32 (NLT)
     One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

This passage had me thinking? Why did Terah head out to Canaan, I have looked in a few places for information about Terah and this journey and have found little that has any evidence to support it. The best reference I have found is in the Bible;

Joshua 24:2
     Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.

So I have looked at this and the writings of other people and can find no reason to explain why Terah left for Canaan. Some people suggest he followed Abram but then chose to stay in Haran. For me this makes no sense, mainly because it states in Genesis 11:31 that Terah took his son Abram. So what is going on here? Who took who to Canaan and why?

Like I say there is much to be found about Terah and Abram but not of it seems to make much sense or be supported by anything solid. Because of that I must be honest and say I have no idea about why Terah began heading for Canaan and then stopped once in Haran.

However there is one way of looking at it, God wanted Abram in Canaan. God had a mission for Abram to do and there was nothing that could stop that from happening once Abram became God's man. So if this is the case then we can see it as God guiding Abram's life through all things big and small until he was able to make a choice himself. We see that in all things we do God is working in the background, setting the scene until the time is right. You can guarantee that if God asks us to do something, He is working to bring the things he promises to pass, even if he has not told us of that promise yet. God has a plan, and it is eternal. And we fit into that plan if we accept God in to our lives.

My new comitment

Last week I mentioned that I was going to embark upon a personal mission to read the whole Bible cover to cover. Well last night I began that mission and commenced reading Genesis.

My aim is to set aside a small amount of time each day that will be dedicated to reading the Bible. It will not be a mammoth session of deep thought or meditation, it will simply be time to read the Bible. My intention is to read all the way through it, Genesis to Revelation. This is not going to be a study and I am not intending to look at every verse in depth. I am simply going to read the Bible. Saying that though when I come across interesting verses or something speaks to me I will follow it up, but the time I am setting aside is not for that.

What I want is to increase my familiarity with the Bible and use that familiarity to grow with God. I know that just reading the Bible is not enough however this is going to be only a starting point. Once this mission is completed I will hopefully have a much broader knowledge of what the Bible contains between the covers and can then progress on to a more in depth reading of the Bible.

It will please at least one person who reads this blog that I will not be using my normal go to Bible for my mission and there are two reasons for this. The first is that I use the Message translation a lot, it goes everywhere with me in my bag, I use it for this blog and is the main Bible translation I use on my PC too. Because of this I want something fresh to me. This is a purely personal choice and I feel after some thought and meditation on the matter that using another translation is the right move. The second reason is that I know there are going to be things that I want to check out straight away or want a little explanation for as I am reading. So for these reasons I will be using my Life Application Study Bible(NLT).

I don't intend to keep a running commentary on how this mission is going as a regular blog post. But I have no doubt that I will post regularly on things that crop up in my reading and through that you will be kept up to date on how it is going. I do ask that anyone willing will pray that this endeavour succeeds and that I do not give up on it. I am hoping that I will be able to work it into my life and that it will become part of my daily routine as this blog has become. My plan is that as I continue to grow spiritually I will be able to keep adding into my life and routine the things I should be doing as a Christian gradually so that they become integral to my life. I know from experience if I try to do everything at once I will drop some thing and then everything will fall down at once. Hopefully if I introduce things slowly I will continue to take steps in the right direction but without overloading myself and laying the path to disaster. 

So the long journey begins in Genesis. I have the first 7 days down, now just the rest of the Bible to go. Don't wish me luck, but do please pray for me.

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
                      (Carolyn Joyce Carty)

I know this is a very commonly known poem, it is used frequently amongst Christians. It is a fantastic image for life, whether we are Christian or not God walks beside us daily ready for any time we may need him. Even if we can't or won't see Him, He is there. Carrying us when we are unable to walk any further or ready to collapse beneath the weight of the world.

Psalm 23:4 (KJV)  

    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

This verse says almost exactly the same as the poem Footprints but from a different angle. If we know we have God then not even the worst things in life should worry us. Yet being human we will struggle to allow God to be there for us, we will struggle against Him as he carries us.

I want at this point to apologise for posting another dark and depressing post. I have much to be thankful and happy for right now, but I am feeling very isolated and cut off at the moment. Due to circumstances I am not able to attend the Church I wish to be at regularly and I am not able to spend time with the friends that I want to see very often. These two things have been fantastic anchors for me this past year, providing me with support as and when I have needed it. If it was not for this support I can honestly say I would not be here writing this post. I have no idea what route my life would have taken but it would not have been the positive path that it has been. 

It is our lot in life as humans to face dark periods, it is the nature of the enemy to try and drag us down when we feel our highest. But remember we have the best defence in the world, Prayer. It is our link to God, it is our weapon and it is our defence. As I mentioned in the post on Genesis 22 God has his plans, it has always been planned out. And it is the best plan there is, there could be non better. We may not understand it, we may not understand why we have to suffer or struggle as we do but be sure God will use it all to his advantage. 

Romans 8:28 (NLT)
     And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Whatever the reasons for things being the way they are, you can be guarantee that God will be working through it to produce something good. In my post on painting with dark colours I talk about how God can bring happiness, joy and goodness from bad situations. We just need to learn to fully rely on God in all things and for all things.

To finish I would like to backtrack into this post a little bit. Earlier I mentioned the fact that I am currently a long way from my friends and Church who have done so much for me over the last year. There are two friends who I feel I should thank especially. Despite the fact that I am not always the easiest person to deal with or be around, the fact that I am far from perfect, they seem to always have time to help, listen and talk when I need it. So for that reason I am saying a public thanks to them, I won't name them as they will know who they are and I know they don't do it for the thanks or to "play" the part. At the same time I would like to thank anyone who reads this, I use this as an outlet to pour out the rubbish in my mind yet it appears some people do read it and possibly even like it, although I am not sure on the second point. Please feel free to leave comments or message me on jerrathorn@gmail.com.

Episode 2 - The one where Abraham tops Isaac (almost)

Ok, so I decided that I would like to look at Genesis 22 for the second linked post. If you want to read the corresponding post from Caron click here.

There is loads that can be said about Genesis 22, I could talk about sacrifice, following God's plans even if we don't like them or even look at how Isaac might have felt because of his Father's actions. But for me the reason that Genesis 22 is so important are the parallels between this and the sacrifice God made through Jesus.

Through all of this story there are a number of events or circumstances which foreshadow what is to occur in the New Testament. To begin with Moriah the place where the sacrifice is to occur is the eventual site where Solomon built the temple which is in close proximity to Calvary. God chose the site for the sacrifice and therefore the setting is not accidental. For me this is the first indication not only of what is to come but also the fact that God does not ask of us more than He Himself is willing to give. Because this site was not close to Abraham he had to travel a significant distance in order to follow God's direction. Numbers are important in the Bible, they hold meaning and are representative of God's actions, plans and thoughts. Because of this the length of time Abraham journeyed is also significant, the journey Abraham went on took him 3 days. The number 3 in the Bible is used to denote God's will or His divine purpose.

We see before the sacrifice that Isaac was laden with the wood for the offering, that he struggled up the mountain bearing the device for his sacrifice. This is a striking resemblance to the fact that Jesus bore his cross to Calvary. Both struggled to carry the load that they had to carry, for Isaac it was only the wood but Jesus carried not only the weight of the cross but the sin of all mankind too.

Abraham had already been promised that his ancestors though Isaac would be an untold number and he trusted God in this. Therefore when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac he knew that though he could not understand the plan God would ensure that His promise would not be broken. He believed that God could resurrect Isaac after the sacrifice, that he would be given back to Abraham from the dead. In a certain sense this did happen, when Abraham lifted his arms to kill Isaac in his head his son was dead. In stopping the sacrifice God was raising Isaac from "death" and saving him for His use.

In what I find to be a moment of great foreshadowing after the sacrifice was stopped God then provided the sacrifice that would be made. The animal that was sacrificed that day was representative of the huge sacrifice God was going to make for us all. The blood of the ram that was sacrificed was significant in sealing the deal between God and mankind that one day the blood of the Lamb would be spilled which would cleanse us all.

One of my great loves of the Bible is how it is all connected, while any one book in the Bible is capable of standing alone, when it is viewed in its complete form the nature and plans of God can be glimpsed. This story is from the beginning of the Bible and yet we can already see that God's plan was in place.

Romans 8:29
     God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.

 The New Testament is not separate from the Old Testament, they form one book, one story. I know that this is far from being a comprehensive look at Genesis 22 and that there is much more that could be learned from it. I do hope though that this may spark an interest to go back and look at the Bible stories we all know so well and consider them in relation to each other. It's an amazing book the Bible, you could read it for an entire lifetime and still not learn all there is to learn from it. You could read it 10, 20, 30 years or more in the future having read it every day and still find something new.

Thoughts or comments please leave below, thanks.