Year 4, Day 59: Exodus 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Identity, Authority

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.
• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

Yesterday I demonstrated that covenant comes before kingdom.  We must know God’s relationship before we can know God’s agenda.  We must know the Father before we can truly grasp the King.  It makes sense in Exodus 10 to continue this pattern but to do so while looking at the second point for each of the Covenant and Kingdom triangles.

Our identity should come out of the Father.  We should learn to value what He values and what He desires for us to value.  We should learn His character and imitate His character within ourselves.  Likewise, our authority should come from the king.  Once our identity is situated in the Father we can look to God as the King and the one with a plan for the world.  Then we can see where He is calling His representatives to go out into the world in authority.  This is how it should work.  This is how we begun to see Moses mature and operate over the last few chapters.

However, this is exactly the model that we see Pharaoh rebelling against.  Pharaoh does not want to submit.  He does not desire to get his identity from anywhere but his own mind.  He does not want to get his authority from anywhere but his own passion.  Rather than submit to God, he tries to compromise with God.  He will let the people go, but only if he can mandate the terms.  He still desires to create his own authority because his identity is equally misplaced.

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Year 4, Day 58: Exodus 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: King, Father

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.
• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

God is indeed the King of the universe.  He is the Almighty.  There is nothing that God cannot do.  He can kill livestock.  He can bring about boils.  He can rain hail down from heaven.  There is no limit to His power.  He is most certainly King.  The plagues story fundamentally demonstrates this fact.

However, The Kingdom Triangle is ultimately rooted in the Covenant Triangle.  Covenant precedes kingdom.  Just as obedience precedes power and identity precedes authority, the Father precedes the King.  God desires relationship with us before He desires to demonstrate His omnipotence.  He has always been omnipotent over this world; He brought this world into existence so that He could demonstrate the higher goal of relationship.

We see the Father in Exodus 9.  God warns the people of the impending danger.  In the plague of hail, He allows those who fear Him to listen to His warning and pull themselves and their animals out of harm’s way.  This is God demonstrating that relationship is more important to God than demonstrating His omnipotence.

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Year 4, Day 57: Exodus 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Identity, Obedience

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.
• Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity.  Our true identity comes only from Father.

What do we do when we come into contact with the awesomeness of God’s power?  Do we rebel against it?  Do we shake our fist at God and ask how He could do such a thing?

In my blog post 3 years ago – which you can access by clicking on the “Theological Commentary” link above – I proposed the idea that the plagues are not judgments upon a pagan Egyptian culture as much as they are an opportunity to come and see the power of the God who created the universe.

You see, the first three plagues affected the Hebrew people and the Egyptians alike.  But then the Hebrew people wake up and understood what God was doing.  They wanted to go out and worship.  They got the message and submit to God’s plan!  However, Pharaoh was never willing to submit.  So from the fourth plague onward, the plagues only affect the Egyptians and not the Hebrew people.

This made me think about us today.  When I come in contact with God, how do I respond?  Do I get my identity from Him and submit to His power, desiring nothing more than to worship Him and be in a relationship with such an awesome being?  Am I obedient to that calling?  Or do I fortify my position and make myself strong against His action and refuse to humble myself in His midst?  Coming in contact with God is a dangerous time, because it is in those moments where my true identity and obedience is exposed the greatest.

Do I bow at the knee or do I shake my fist?

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Year 4, Day 56: Exodus 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I have a feeling I’ll be able to write quite a few posts on this kingdom dynamic over the next few chapters.  You see, whereas the Covenant Triangle (Father, Identity, Obedience) is all about relationship and invitation, the Kingdom Triangle (King, Authority, Power) is all about calling and challenge.  And what we have brewing between Pharaoh and God is an old fashioned O.K. Corral style shootout between two beings who consider themselves eminently powerful.

Pharaoh sees himself as a god among powerful gods in Egypt.  He is king of the land and accustomed to it.  When God puts His power on display, Pharaoh considers it a challenge and hardens his heart.  Pharaoh is determined to not let God win.  Pharaoh has no desire to acknowledge God as king.  Therefore we have a power struggle and a conflict of authority.  I don’t mean to give out any spoilers, but God wins these kinds of conflicts every time.

On the other hand, Moses is in the process of figuring out his relationship with God.  As we’ve seen over the last few chapters, he’s learning to submit.  He’s also still wrestling a bit with God with respect to trying to figure out exactly what authority and power God as king has given to him.  But to Moses’ credit the one thing that he is not confused about is that God is indeed the King.  God is the one who is setting the marching orders.  God is the one with the plan.  God is the one who can see the outcome and get His people there.  All the power that Moses and Aaron put on display comes from the authority that God the king has placed in their life.  Contrary to Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron are content to let God be king even if they do struggle and become frustrated with God’s implementation from time to time.

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Year 4, Day 55: Exodus 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character, D2

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Exodus 6 is a great chapter with respect to examining how it is that God builds character.  Before we go there, let’s stop for a moment and acknowledge that we all need help building character.  We all do the wrong thing from time to time.  We all have difficulties making the right decisions from time to time.  We all make mistakes, and sometimes it is easy to fall into the pit of despair over our mistakes.

We’ve been watching Moses fall into the pit of despair over the last few days.  We’ve seen him begin to doubt himself.  We’ve heard him fall into the trap of making excuses as to why he will just fail.  Yes, Moses is headed into the pit of despair regarding his own character.

However, look at God’s response.  Rather than patch up Moses’ character and convince Moses how great Moses is, God turns Moses to focus on God’s character.  God turns Moses towards God in order to help build Moses’ character.  We’ll never be perfect.  So long as I lean upon my own understanding I’ll always fall at some point.  True character comes from turning and focusing on the fact that God is doing the new thing.  God is the power behind our life.

Our character is not made by perfecting our flawed character.  Our character is made by releasing our flawed character, turning to God, and embracing His character instead.  That’s how God moves in Moses in Exodus 6.

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Year 4, Day 54: Exodus 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Exodus 5 is a very humbling story.  Moses goes before Pharaoh and Pharaoh ultimately rejects his suggestion.  He goes before Pharaoh as God’s servant and gets rejected.  In fact, Pharaoh turns on Moses and makes the Hebrew people make bricks without straw.  Then the people turn on Moses and wonder why he got involved.  So what does Moses do?  He turns to God and gets upset.

Here’s the thing about this chapter.  Moses forgets who is King.  He forgets who is in charge.  He sees the results and slips back into the mode of thinking common among mankind.  He thinks Pharaoh has the final say.  He sees the results of the world, recognizes that it is the reality in which he lives, and becomes frustrated.

For the record, I’m no different.

Look at the words with which Exodus 5 ends.  “Why did you send me?”  “You have not delivered your people at all.”  Moses has forgotten who is King.  He has forgotten that God is in charge and will have the final say.

The neat thing is that God continues to work through Moses.  This mistake doesn’t stop God’s hand at work.  God forgives and continues His plan.  He can do that because He is indeed King.

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Year 4, Day 53: Exodus 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

 Exodus 4 continues the look into Moses’ character that we began yesterday.  I love this chapter because it shows us that Moses isn’t this master and perfect leader of millions that we think him to be.  Moses had serious doubts in the beginning.  Moses struggledto see just how God would get him from point A to point B.

This is a very powerful point to discuss as we look at the issue of character.  Moses doesn’t have any difficulty grasping the vision of God.  He can understand that God wants to set His people free from oppression and bondage.  He can see that God desires to bring His people out of Egypt.  All of that makes incredible sense to Moses.  Moses doesn’t fail to grasp God’s vision.

Where Moses fails with respect to character is in understanding the process.  Moses fails to see how God will use him to bring about His plan.  Moses doesn’t doubt God’s vision; He doubts his own ability to play a role in God’s vision.  He doubts his own ability, not God’s.  I think this is a valuable point to consider with respect to Moses’ character.

From one perspective, Moses has a great character in that he can grasp what God plans to do.  But from the human side we can see that Moses struggles with his character in that he cannot see how he can do his own part.  He still needs growth and maturity, but the good news is that God has not given up on Moses!

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Year 4, Day 52: Exodus 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

I think this is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.  Here we see Moses working on his character.  We see God refining his character.

Notice what happens.  God knows Moses is unprepared as of yet, but God uses Moses’ natural curiosity to draw him in.  Then Moses undergoes some training.

The first thing that we see is reverence for God.  Remember what we discovered yesterday?  Moses had a good start on getting his identity from God with respect to the sanctity of life.  But now God brings Himself into the view.  God teaches Moses what reverence looks like.  He teaches Moses to take off His shoes.  He teaches Moses to respect His name.  He teaches Moses to hear his voice and to listen to it.

This is the beginning of the building of character with Moses.  It doesn’t always start in this dramatic fashion with a burning bush.  But it does almost always start with reverence of who His is.  It also almost always starts with hearing about God’s plan and learning how to begin to follow it.

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Year 4, Day 51: Exodus 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from God.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

As we start out the story of Moses, we do have to spend a little bit of time looking at his youth.  As with most people, when we look at the true story of their youth we’ll see flaws in development.  Moses is no different.

When Moses is a young man, he sees an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew.  Naturally, he knows his heritage and cannot tolerate that the Hebrew man is being beaten.  That’s a great instinct.  It demonstrates that Moses has a value for the sanctity of life.  What a great quality to find in a young adult!

However, Moses demonstrates here that while he may share some of his values with God, he is not truly getting his identity from the Father yet.  Whereas God would approve of Moses’ value for the sanctity of life, God would not approve of Moses’ violent of killing the Egyptian.  If Moses were getting his identity from God, he would have stopped the violence without terminating the life of the Egyptian.

We can see the effects of this flaw.  Not only does this act lead to the ire of the Egyptians but also the ire of the Hebrew people.  He is rejected by all.  He has to flee his life and seek out a new life in the wilderness.  Fortunately God is with him and willing to continue to work on his identity.  Even when our identity has flaws and does not always come from the Father, God does not abandon us!

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Year 4, Day 50: Exodus 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Authority, Power

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.
• Power: This is the natural outcome when we truly get our authority from the king.  When our authority is from God, we are equipped with His power to accomplish His will.  We act on His behalf in a world that He desperately loves.

In Exodus 1:8 we find a king who did not know Joseph.  He did not know Joseph’s heritage.  He did not know Joseph’s God.  We have here a Pharaoh that is concerned only about his world, his nation, his reign, his success, and his reputation.  Here is a Pharaoh whose identity does not come from the Father.  Comparatively, neither does his authority come from the King.

If we examine the following verses, we see that this misplaced authority leads to abused power.  The Pharaoh attempts to afflict them with hard labor in order to drive them into submission and shorten their lifespan.  When that didn’t work, Pharaoh attempts to kill their male children so that they cannot reproduce and would then have to assimilate into the Egyptian culture.  However, that doesn’t work, either.

Pharaoh’s plans make sense from a worldly perspective.  Many ruthless leaders have attempted these techniques throughout all of history.  They don’t work, however, because God has a different plan.  Pharaoh comes up against God and rather than aligning himself with God he chooses to work against Him.  Because his authority is not coming from the King he abuses his power and his plans ultimately fail.

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Year 4, Day 49: Genesis 50

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from God.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

Do you know what I love about the end of Genesis?  I love the example of Joseph as we conclude this book.  Here we see that Joseph is a true man of God as his identity is upon the will of God.

How can we see this?  First, look at how Joseph keeps his promise to his father.  When Jacob dies, Joseph takes him back to the Promised Land – back into the promise of God.  We also see it in the interaction between himself and his brothers.  Joseph’s forgiveness doesn’t need to be bought as his brothers intend.  Joseph’s forgiveness is truly given because he understands who God has intended him to be.

However, the most meaningful way that we can see that Joseph gets his identity from God is in the way he focuses upon the will of God.  In the end, Joseph doesn’t point out how much he has prospered when his brothers intended him harm.  Joseph doesn’t talk about how much more God must love him because of his position in Egypt.  In the end, Joseph reminds his brothers that although the brothers did plan harm, God was powerful enough to turn that harm into a means for furthering God’s plan.  In the end, Joseph isn’t focused on his own success because he is too busy focused on what God is doing in the world.  That’s a man who gets his identity from the Father.

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Year 4, Day 48: Genesis 49

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

We’ve focused a lot on character, especially since turning to Jacob and then into Joseph.  But I think that it has been time well spent.  Once more I’d like to focus us in on the consideration as to whether we have the internal life to accomplish what God has called us to do.

If we look at this list of blessings, we notice that for the most part Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are chastised.  Reuben is chastised because he was the leader as the first-born and should have known better.  Simeon and Levi are chastised because they likewise we placed into positions of leadership in the family and they struggled to live up to their calling.  In these three brothers, we see that they did not have the character to live up to their calling.  Their blessing demonstrates this dynamic.

Then we arrive at Judah.  Judah had a rough start and was clearly headed down the path of his earlier brothers.  However, when Judah was caught in his sinfulness he managed to repent.  That is what character is all about.  Yes, good character should help us to not make mistakes in the first place.  But being human, we will make mistakes.  Good character also means that when we are caught in those mistakes we can also repent and recover.  That’s good character; that’s what we see in Judah.  That’s why Judah’s blessing is so pronounced in this chapter.

The other significant blessing within this chapter falls upon Joseph.  Here is the true stand-up brother of the whole family.  He is the one who is faithful to God even when the world conspires against him.  He is the one who is faithful even when sold into bondage to another country.  He is the one who forgives when forgiveness was not expected or even asked.  Joseph is the true model of character in this story.  We can see that in his blessing as well.

What’s your character like?  If Jacob were pouring out a blessing upon your head, would it resemble Joseph’s, Judah’s, or one of the other brother’s?

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Year 4, Day 47: Genesis 48

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: God shelters us.  He knows our threats and knows how to bring us through them.  We learn to trust God to protect us.

As I looked at this chapter through the various lenses of discipleship, I saw the topic of protection come through in the blessing that Jacob pronounces over Joseph’s children.  This is a beautiful blessing.  It is a blessing that first and foremost turns us to God’s activity.

In the Hexagon, we understand that one of the things for which we can pray is protection.  God protects us.  God watches out for us.  We learn to trust our life in His hands.  Let’s face it, is there anyone else whose hands life is better placed?

But the thing that I really love about Jacob’s blessing upon his grandchildren is the emphasis of God’s protection over not just himself but his fathers.  God walked with Abraham and protected him.  God walked with Isaac and protected him.  God has walked with Jacob and protected him.  Why shouldn’t Ephraim and Manasseh learn to feel this same protection that was upon their forefathers before them?

We can also know this same protection.  God has not changed.  The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ephraim, and Manasseh is the God of Peter, Paul, James, and John and He is the same God over you and me.  God hand is over us all.  Into Him we commit our life and spirit.  There is no better place.

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Year 4, Day 46: Genesis 47

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Every time I read Genesis 47 I am amazed at the taxation involved.  Eventually the food among the people runs out.  So the people turn to Joseph and he sells them food in exchange for their livestock.  Then the food runs out again so Joseph sells them food in return for their land and servitude.  Here’s the deal, though.  Joseph asks for a 20% tax in exchange for provision with respect to food.

How does this lead us to a conversation about character?  Well, the reality is that God has given us all that we have: our talents, our intellect, our skills, our abilities, our opportunities.  All that we have came first from God.  Yet God simply asks for 10%.  Even our own country demands more than 10% – which, for the record, our country doesn’t provide food to those of us who are employed.  God gives us so much in this life and relatively speaking asks for so little in return.

Character is having the interior life to support the work that God sets before us.  Having good character implies doing the right thing with what God has given to us.  We are so willing to give to our country and to our own passions.  But are we willing to give back to God when He has given us so much?

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Year 4, Day 45: Genesis 46

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Obedience, Power

• Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity.  Our true identity comes only from Father.
• Power: This is the natural outcome when we truly get our authority from the king.  When our authority is from God, we are equipped with His power to accomplish His will.  We act on His behalf in a world that He desperately loves.

What an exciting chapter in which we can talk about the ultimate fruit of being in a relationship with God.  Obedience comes from identity; identity comes from the Father.  Power comes from authority, authority comes from the king.  Joseph puts both of these on display here.

Joseph’s obedience to God has put him in a position of favor with Pharaoh.  Joseph obedience to God has put him in a place where he can save his family from famine.  Joseph’s obedience to God puts him in a great place to play a significant role in sustaining his family.

How this happens is through the power of Joseph, which ultimately comes through the authority of Joseph.  Joseph has the authority to suggest to Pharaoh that his family reside in Goshen.  Joseph has the authority to present his shepherding family as an asset to Pharaoh.  Thus, Joseph has the power to protect his family as they move into this foreign nation.

All of this comes from God.  Joseph is obedient and faithful to his God.  Joseph understands that true power comes from the authority of God.  In this chapter we get an awesome picture of a man who is humble before God yet still quite capable of leading confidently!

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Year 4, Day 44: Genesis 45

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Learning Circle

• Learning Circle: The Learning Circle is a tool we use to hear from God.  It focuses to look at six stages of listening: observe, reflect, discuss, plan, account, and act.  Ultimately it helps us look at the question: What is God saying to me and what am I going to do about it?

Today we can look at the completion of Judah’s confession.  There are many other directions we could turn in this chapter: obedience of Joseph, identity of Joseph, character of Joseph, provision of the Father, or guidance of the Father.  But I believe today I’d like an opportunity to complete the discussion I began yesterday.

In Genesis 42:21 we saw the brothers come to a realization that their past events have finally caught up with them.  In Genesis 43:8-9 we can get a sense that Judah truly begins to step up his understanding and his need to repent and work towards correcting his error.  In Genesis 44:16 Judah repents before Joseph.  Today, Joseph reveals himself to Judah and together they begin to set a plan in motion.

God asked for repentance.  The brothers – Judah especially – fulfilled that request.  Through their repentance, a plan is established in which the brothers will return home and bring their father down to Egypt so that his whole household might dwell in the security that God has provided within Egypt.  It is amazing what God can do with us in life when we are willing to turn to Him, repent, listen to His voice, and then act upon His will.

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Year 4, Day 43: Genesis 44

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Learning Circle

• Learning Circle: The Learning Circle is a tool we use to hear from God.  It focuses to look at six stages of listening: observe, reflect, discuss, plan, account, and act.  Ultimately it helps us look at the question: What is God saying to me and what am I going to do about it?

The first half of the learning circle is devoted to repentance.  We must repent before we believe.  We must see our brokenness before we can appreciate healing.  We need to observe our behavior, reflect on how our behavior affects our life, discuss our behavior with others, and then come to a place where we can see what God desires of us.

Actually, we see this behavior in Judah today.  So far in Genesis we’ve seen Judah abandon God’s ways.  He’s married foreign women.  He’s sold his brother into slavery.  But when Benjamin’s life is in jeopardy, Judah hits rock bottom.  He knows that he cannot go back.  Returning to Israel without Benjamin would mean that he would have been responsible for the tragic end of both of Rachel’s sons.

Judah repents.  He observes what he has done in his life.  He reflects how his choices have negatively impacted himself and his family.  He discusses this with Joseph and completely repents.  He comes to a place in his life where instead of pursuing his own agenda he now is coming to terms with who God wants him to be.  Judah repents.

Tomorrow we’ll get to hear about the plan that comes out of Judah’s confession.  We’ll also get a chance to look at Joseph’s character.  But it all starts right here with Judah’s repentance.  It all starts because Judah is finally able to be honest with his life, reflect upon his life, and confess that he could do better at being a godly man.

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Year 4, Day 42: Genesis 43

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Power

• Power: This is the natural outcome when we truly get our authority from the king.  When our authority is from God, we are equipped with His power to accomplish His will.  We act on His behalf in a world that He desperately loves.

Yesterday we opened the conversation about authority.  Joseph certainly had authority from God over Egypt and over his brothers.  Today we see that he has power.

The first instance of power that we see in Joseph is in Jacob.  Jacob doesn’t want to send his sons back to Egypt.  He certainly doesn’t want to send Benjamin to Egypt at all!  Jacob knows the power that Joseph wields.

For the record, so do his brothers.  But they just happen to be hungry enough to overcome what fear they may have for Joseph’s power.

As we did yesterday, let us look at what Joseph does with this gift of God.  Joseph uses his power to put God’s grace on display.  Joseph welcomes his brothers.  Joseph grants food from his own table for his brothers.  Joseph grants Benjamin, his brother from the same mother, five times the portion of the rest.

Joseph had all the power in the world.  But here he uses that power to put God’s grace on display.  This is a theme we’ll see even more over the next few days.  True power comes from genuine authority.  Genuine authority comes from the king of the universe.  Joseph puts God on display when he acts.

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Year 4, Day 41: Genesis 42

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

True authority comes from God.  In Genesis 42 we can see that God has given authority over Egypt to Joseph.  Furthermore, God has give Joseph authority over his brothers.

It is important is to look at the effect of this authority.  Joseph is leading his brothers down a path of repentance and forgiveness.  He is leading the brothers into a place of restoration with him and their God.  Joseph is not about his own agenda or his own revenge.  Joseph is a messenger of the king and about the work of the king.

This is a great story about a man and his God.  God did not abandon Joseph when he was sold by his brothers.  God did not abandon Joseph when he was imprisoned.  God lifted up Joseph and proved Himself to be the king.  God put Joseph into a position of authority and Joseph did not forget from where his authority came.  Joseph is an agent of God.

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Year 4, Day 40: Genesis 41

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Father

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.

The Father invites us into relationship with Him.  He loves us.  He cares for us.  He is gracious to us.  He does not abandon us.

All of this is true whether we acknowledge Him or not.  How do we know this?  Certainly we know this by looking at Joseph.  God did not abandon him to the prison.  God uses the dreams of the Pharaoh and the coming famine to elevate Joseph and prepare for the descendants of Abraham to survive the famine.  God is great in the life of Joseph.

However, we also see God’s graciousness in Pharaoh.  God gives Pharaoh time to prepare.  God gives Pharaoh seven years to store up grain.  God gives Pharaoh a servant who will serve him diligently.  God could have abandoned him to his worldly pursuits of other gods.  However, God displays His love even upon Pharaoh.  He is great indeed.

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Year 4, Day 39: Genesis 40

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Three years ago, when I was reading through Genesis for the first time in doing my blog, I was struck by verse 8.  Does not the interpretation of dreams belong to God?  Three years later, I am still struck by that same passage.

God gives us dreams.  He gives us His Word.  He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit.  He empowers us to act beyond our true human capacity as we reflect His will, grace, and love into this world.  He is the source of all things good.  If He is the source of all things good, why should we be surprised that the interpretation of dreams, the use of His gifts, the interpretation of His Word, and the application of His love should belong to Him?

God is the King.  He is in charge.  He is ruler over all.  Everything is under His authority.  All power comes out of His authority.  This is the message that I hear loud and clear through Joseph’s testimony today.  Everything belongs to Him; life is best lived when we recognize His authority and spend less time trying to assert our own authority.  He is king.  The best authority comes from Him.

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Year 4, Day 38: Genesis 39

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Character, D2

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Joseph is an incredible man.  However, his life was not easy.  His own family sold him out just to get rid of him.  When he abides by God’s ways and does not desire to have sex with Potifer’s wife, the decision lands him in prison.  Here is a man who certainly is as godly as any man could be, yet his life is anything but free from trouble.

So, what can we learn here in this part of Joseph’s story?  Joseph is on a course to be the great leader that God needs in the future.  But he needs to learn some valuable lessons.  He needs to develop that character so that when the time comes to lead that he can lead.  Joseph finds turmoil and persecution in his life; God takes that persecution and turmoil and develops Joseph’s character.

Persecution and turmoil will come.  When we follow God, people will not understand – even people who come into worship and sit beside us.  The world will reject us.  But as the world rejects, God will use that time to develop character.  God will use that time to bring us into a place in life where we can make the correct and difficult choices when they need to be made.

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Year 4, Day 37: Genesis 38

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Obedience

• Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity.  Our true identity comes only from Father.

When we look at this chapter, of course we see sin abounding.  Onan refuses to give his sister-in-law any children because they won’t be his.  He is self-centered.  Judah marries a Canaanite woman and takes Canaanite women for his sons.  Certainly this goes against God’s directive.  Judah also looks for a prostitute when he goes to sheer his sheep and ends up impregnating his own daughter-in-law!  Sin abounds in this chapter.

Whenever we have a chapter where sin abounds, it is always reasonable to look at the idea of obedience.  When sin abounds, we have a case where people are being obedient to something other than God.  They are obeying worldly thought.  They are obeying their own self-centered desires.  Whatever the case may be, they are sinning because their actions are not proceeding out of their faith.  (See Romans 14:23)

Of course, the question that needs to be asked in order to resolve this issue of obedience is this: what identity is the obedience serving?  Certainly Onan is not serving any identity that comes from the Father.  Certainly Judah is not serving an identity that comes from the Father.  Whatever else we can say about this chapter, we can absolutely say that sin abounds in this chapter because the main characters are being obedient to an identity that is not from the Father.  We can clearly see the danger of such a pattern of life all throughout this chapter.

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Year 4, Day 36: Genesis 37

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: In

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.

This is one of my favorite stories from my childhood.  There’s something about a boy, a multi-colored coat, brotherly infighting, and a slaughtered goat that really can get the attention of a young boy.  But as I’ve matured, I think I am seeing this story through a new lens.  It’s a lens that was unavailable to me when I was a child.  It’s the lens of leadership.

One of the successful dimensions of leadership is having a good In.  We need people with whom we can be honest.  We need people with whom we can discern.  We need people that we can trust.  It’s a part of effective leadership.  I need people who can help me see the good ideas from the bad ideas.  I need people to encourage me and support me while also helping me to avoid as many of life’s pitfalls as possible.  The truth is, we all need those In people.  We all benefit when we have spiritually mature people to help us discern.

Having said this, let’s look at Joseph.  When he has his visions, to whom does he turn?  He turns to his brothers.  His brothers are neither spiritually mature nor are they able to help him discern properly.  Rather, they become jealous.  Rather than helping Joseph hear from God, they grab him and become an obstruction. 

This chapter is really a great example of the failure of In.  Joseph chose to confide in the wrong people.  Without those discerning people, Joseph’s life turns upside down.  He struggles unsuccessfully and finds himself in a heap of trouble.  Life without the right In people is far more difficult than it could be with the right In.

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