Genesis 1-3

Genesis 1:1-3 ‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning.’ These opening verses challenge us to get our priorities right - (a) The priority of God (1). God comes first. Before anyone else is mentioned, He is there. (b) The priority of God’s Word (3). God is the first to speak. Before any human word is spoken, there is the …

Seeing the bigger picture

"So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” So he said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down …

Trust the Lord.

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 18:1-5 (21:1-7); Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 or Exodus 19:2-8a; Psalm 100; Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23) Trust the Lord. Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14). We need to hear these words as God’s call to greater faith. Sarah, like Abraham, had heard God’s promises, yet ‘she laughed to …

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 45:1-15; Psalm 133 or Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Psalm 67; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

We gather together to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In the reunion of Joseph with his brothers, there is a great testimony to the God of grace: ‘Do not be distressed... because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life... God sent me before you to preserve for you …

I will bless you. You will be a blessing. Bless the Lord.

"... I will bless you... you will be a blessing... " (Genesis 12:1-3).God is calling us to receive a blessing from Him - and to be a blessing for Him. Receiving God's blessing is a good thing - but it's not all that God has planned for us. We are to let His blessing flow …

I love you, and I am seeking to save you.

When we come to God, acknowledging His holiness and our own sin and guilt, we discover that the God of great holiness is also the God of great love. The God who pronounces his judgment upon sin, declares His love for sinners. When God says, "What is it that you have done?" (Genesis 3:13), this …

Where are you?

"Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9). The Lord is looking for us. Why does he look for us? He looks for us because he loves us. He looks for us with the look of love. When he looks at us, he sees our sin, but he sees more than that - he, also, sees our Saviour. He …

God’s Amazing Grace

Genesis 17:1-27  Amazing grace - this is the marvellous theme of this chapter. Abram became Abraham (Genesis 17:5). Sarai became Sarah (Genesis 17:15-16). What they were belonged to their sinful past. What they became was the work of God's grace. What a contrast there is between human sin and divine grace. We look at ourselves. …

The Lamb of God

"Where is the lamb for the sacrifice? God will see to it" (Genesis 22:7-8). From here, we look forward to Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Our salvation comes from him - from what he has done for us, not from what we have done …

"God Has Blessed Us In Christ With Every Spiritual Blessing."

Genesis 49:1-28 Jacob blesses his sons, ‘blessing each with the blessing suitable to him’(28). The most significant blessings are reserved for Joseph (22-26). This is not simply the blessing of Jacob. This is the blessing of ‘the Mighty One of Jacob... the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel... the God of your father... God Almighty' (24-25). …

Such a wonderful love, such a wonderful gift

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe (or "coat of many colours")  for him" (Genesis 37:3). What was so special about this ornate robe, this coat of many colours? - It was the love that lay behind the …

What’s In A Name?

Genesis 2:19 The naming of the animals What’s in a name? Names are important to the Lord. He calls us “by name” (John 10:3). We are known by our own name. How disappointed we are when someone forgets our name. How wonderful it is that the Lord never forgets our name. There’s something more wonderful …

The Beginning Of Sin

Genesis 3 From the majestic perfection of God and the privileged responsibility of humanity, we now move to the evil subtlety of Satan. An intruder has sneaked into the privileged place between God, the Creator, and mankind, His creation. Chapter 2 ends with the absence of shame. Chapter 3 begins with the presence of Satan. The …

Sent by God

"It was not you who sent me here, but God" (Genesis 45:8). Joseph looked back over the events that had brought him to Egypt. He remembered what his brothers had done to him. They had sold him into slavery in Egypt (Genesis 37:28) - but he was not bitter. He saw the hand of the …

Lord, sometimes, the things that happen to us don’t seem to make sense – to us!

Genesis 11:10-32 Lord, sometimes, the things that happen to us don’t seem to make sense – to us! We try to tell the story of our life. We try to make sense of it all. We try – but we fail. Why? – We don’t know the full story. Sometimes, we feel like we’re living …

When nothing seems to be going right for us

"The Lord was with Joseph in a very special way" (Genesis 39:3). Did this change when Joseph was put in prison? No! - "But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him" (Genesis 39:20-21). His circumstances had changed - but his God hadn't changed! What a word of encouragement for us! When nothing seems …

God Is Still At Work, Calling Sinners To Worship Him.

Genesis 4 This chapter tells the story of the progression of mankind, the increase of sin and - in its final sentence - the development of worship. There are interesting snippets of cultural information (vs. 20-22). There may be progress in the horizontal dimension - agriculture, music, industry, but history reveals again and again that …

Are we content to live our life at the surface level? or Are we looking for something more than that?

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2). Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me (Psalm 42:7). The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God …

Bless the boys … and the girls.

"And he (Israel, formerly known as Jacob) blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried …

First Sunday of Lent: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

Created by God, Created for God Genesis 2:7 "the breath of life" Everything changes when the Lord breathes His breath of life into us. * Until God comes to us in power, our situation is desperate - "I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry" (Ezekiel …

Special Days – Springtime: Genesis 8:15-22; Psalm 65:9-13; Galatians 6:7-10; Matthew 6:24-30

Christ has taken away our sin. Let us rejoice in Him. Following the flood, we have this simple yet striking declaration: ‘the ground was dry’ (Genesis 8:13). Safe from judgment! This is the message which comes to us from the Cross: ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John …

Lord, we thank You that You are always with us.

Genesis 15:1-21 Lord, we thank You that You are always with us – even when bad things are happening to us.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). "Let light shine out of darkness": this takes us all the way back to Genesis 1:3-5. And God said, “Let …

The Darkness Of Sin, The Light Of Salvation

Beyond the darkness of sin, there's the light of salvation (Genesis 1-3). This is not only about creation. It's also about sin. There's also the promise of salvation (Genesis 3:15). Even in the darkness of sin, there's a glimpse of the light that will come. God created us. He has not forgotten us. He has sent …

The darkness of sin, and the light of God’s salvation

Genesis 19 is a chapter that's full of the darkness of sin. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is followed by the sordid episode with Lot and his daughters. Sin leads to judgment. That's the lesson of Sodom and Gomorrah. sin leads to judgment. we see this in the birth of these two illicitly conceived …

A journey with God

"So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran"  (Genesis 12:4). Abram was 75 years old: it's never too late to make a new beginning with God! He gives us the strength that we need to put our past behind us …

From grace, we receive salvation. Works can never earn salvation.

Genesis 25:1-34 In the first half of this chapter, we read about Abraham's family (1-6), Abraham's death (7-11) and - Ishmael's family. The sections which call for closer attention are the birth of Jacob and Esau (19-26) and Esau sells his birthright (27-34). In Romans 9, Paul contrasts the way of grace (Jacob) and the …

There’s a way back to God.

"Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land" (Genesis 12:10). There was a famine in the land - When we are walking with God, we don't always walk straight into favourable circumstances. For Abram, going down to Egypt was the beginning of …

Enoch, Noah and Christ

Genesis 5:1-32 "Enoch walked with God" (22-23). Following this striking statement about Enoch's remarkable walk with God, we are introduced to Noah (28-32). Like Enoch, "Noah walked with God" (6:9). "Noah" means "Relief" - "Out of the ground which the Lord has cursed this child shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil …

The plan of God is emphasized and the presence of God is experienced.

Genesis 26:1-35 Of the various sections in this chapter - the most significance are verses 1-5 in which the plan of God is emphasized and verses 23-25 in which the presence of God is experienced. Sometimes - we can get bogged down in details about things that happened a very long time ago. These are …

Putting God first

GENESIS 1:1-3 ‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning’. These opening verses challenge us to get our priorities right - (a) The priority of God (1). God comes first. Before anyone else is mentioned, He is there. (b) The priority of God’s Word (3). God is the first to speak. Before any human word is spoken, there is the …

Grace found Noah!

Genesis 6:1-22 As we read the story of Noah, we learn of the place of Noah within the divine revelation of the Gospel of grace. "Noah found grace" (8) might be turned around to read, "Grace found Noah." "Amazing grace ... I once was lost but now am found." The significance of Noah, highlighted in 5:29, …

Grace

"Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). There was so much sin, but there was, also, grace - the grace of God. Grace is reaching out to us. It is calling us. How can we begin to describe the grace of God? How can we begin to praise the God of …

Everyone is important.

Genesis 10:1-32 What a lot of names! Why is all this included in God’s Word? It may describe the historical context of God’s unfolding purpose of providing salvation for sinners, but what does it say to us? The inclusion of so many obscure names emphasizes that everyone - however obscure - is important. ‘God so …

Good News for sinners

In Genesis 3, we read about sin - and we, also, read about the God's love for  sinners. Sin - this is bad news. God's love for sinners - this is Good News. In Genesis 3:13, we have God's question: "What is this that you have done?" What kind of question is this? Is it …

Call upon the name of the Lord.

"Call upon the name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26). Down through the centuries, people have called upon the name of the Lord. We know the names of some of the people. Most of the names we'll never know. We  don't need to know their names - but we do need to know the name of …

A famine in the land, a famine of hearing the words of the Lord

"Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe." (Genesis 12:10). Later on, in the time of Joseph, we read about Egypt being a place of refuge in a time of famine. This story is told in Genesis 41-50. …

This is from the Lord.

"Interpreting dreams is God's business" (Genesis 40:8). "I know what the dream means" (Genesis 40:12). The dreams were given by God. Their interpretation was given by him. When we read about the dreams and their interpretation, we must not make too much of the part played by Joseph. Our attention is drawn away from Joseph. …

The ‘Amazing Grace’ Of God: ‘Wonderful Grace Of Jesus, Greater Than All My Sin!’

Genesis 25:1-18 What will we leave behind us? What will we pass on to the next generation? In this passage of many names, there is a challenging contrast between the influence of Abraham and Ishmael on the next generation. In verse 11, we read, ‘After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac’. In verse 18, …

Walking with God – on into His eternal glory

"Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away" (Genesis 5:24). Enoch walked with God. On and on, he walked  ... on and on, into eternity. "God took him away" - this is so different from the recurring phrase, "he died" (5,8,11,14,17,20,27,31). Is there a hint, here, of the glorious …

God is doing a work of grace.

God is doing a work of grace. This becomes clear in the promise given to Abram (Genesis 12:1-3). Satan is still very active in the world - "Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord" (Genesis 13:13). This is a situation which causes great distress to the people of God …

Genesis 40-42

Genesis 40:1-23 God gave Joseph power to overcome temptation (chapter 39). Now, He gives him power to interpret dreams. Here, Joseph the dreamer (37:5-11) becomes Joseph the interpreter of dreams. Joseph may be viewed as a prophet: ‘Surely  the Lord does nothing, without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets’ (Amos 3:7). As a …

Genesis 34-36

Genesis 34:1-31 This chapter is about sin - the name of God is not even mentioned! We might well say of this chapter: ‘the less said the better’. We should, however, notice that Jacob is still turning out to be a big disappointment. Despite all Jacob’s potential (28:15-17,20-22; 32:28-30), there is still, in him, a …

Learning from Genesis 1 (23): God’s Gift – Eternal Salvation

Genesis 1:30 - “I have given” The gift of God – Life is God’s gift. He is our Creator. Salvation is God’s gift. Jesus is our Saviour. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift. He has come to live in us. He will take us to live with God – to give glory to God forevermore. …

Learning from Genesis 1 (22): The Strong Meat Of God’s Word

Genesis 1:29 - “meat” We need the strong meat of God’s Word if we are to grow strong in the Lord. Let us feed on the Word of God. Let us pray that our hunger will increase. The more we hunger for the Lord, the more fully He will satisfy us.

Learning from Genesis 1 (21): The blessing of God

"God blessed them" (Genesis 1:28). What a good thing it is to be blessed by the Lord! The blessing of God is better than anything else. Without his blessing, we have nothing - nothing that really matters. With his blessing, we have everything that really matters.

Learning from Genesis 1 (20): Created And Called

"So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). Created in the image of God - this is our high calling. As we journey through life, we're being called to become more like our God - filled with His love and His holiness. …

Learning from Genesis 1 (19): The Beginning Of Conflict And The Promise Of Victory

This post begins in Genesis 1, takes us on to Genesis 3, and far beyond that - to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! “Created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27) - “God saw everything that He had created … it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). At the end of Genesis 1, things couldn’t …

Learning from Genesis 1 (18): In God’s Image

Genesis 1:26 - “in God’s image” This doesn’t sound like a true description of the way we really are! We are sinners. We have lost our way. It’s a reminder of what God created us to be. It’s His high calling for us. He calls us to be like Him. He calls us to bring …

Learning from Genesis 1 (17): Jesus is Lord! – He Gives His Victory To Us.

Genesis 1:24 - The “beast” Whenever we read, in God’s Word, about “the beast”, we are reminded that we face constant and determined opposition from Satan, the enemy of our souls. Whenever we feel that Satan is getting the upper hand, let us remind him that Jesus is Lord. Genesis 1:25 - “every thing that …

Learning from Genesis 1 (16): God’s Great Faithfulness

Genesis 1:23 - “the evening and the morning” The repeated pattern of nature – evening, morning, evening, morning… – speaks to us of God’s great faithfulness. Without the sustaining power of God of perfect faithfulness and constant love, our world would return to chaos – “without form and void” (1:2). Whatever changes may take place …

Learning from Genesis 1 (15): Blessed By The Lord

Genesis 1:22 - “God blessed them” What a great thing it is to be blessed by the Lord. Without His blessing, we have nothing. We must never forget these challenging words of Jesus; “Without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). What a great challenge they are to our human pride. When we think we …

Learning from Genesis 1 (14): Bearing fruit for Jesus Christ, the risen Lord

Genesis 1:11 – “the fruit tree yielding fruit” We bear fruit as we build our lives on the Word of the Lord (Psalm 1). There is the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives (Galatians 5:22-23). There is the fruit of God at work in the lives upon whom we are able to exert a …

Learning from Genesis 1 (13): Out of the darkness – and into the light

Genesis 1:5 – “Day and Night” It’s like the difference between Day and Night. What a great change there is in us when the Lord brings us out of our darkness and into His light. Genesis 1:6 - “a firmament” Firm – We have a firm foundation upon which to build our faith. There is …

Learning from Genesis 1 (12): The day and the night, the light and the darkness.

"God called the light day, and the darkness he called night" (Genesis 1:5). Here, we read about the day and the night. We, also, read about the light and the darkness. There is physical light. That's daytime. There is, also, physical darkness. That's night time. What are we to say about daytime and night time? …

Learning from Genesis 1 (11): God speaks, and it is done.

God speaks, and it is done (Genesis 1:3,6-7,11). He is pleased with what He has done (Genesis 1:4,10,12). This is the pattern of both God’s original creation and our life as a ‘new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God speaks to us and we say, ‘Your will be done’ (Matthew 6:10).

Learning from Genesis 1 (9): In the beginning, God

Genesis 1-2 "In the beginning, God"  - The first four words of the Bible take us back to the point where we can go no further, back to the eternity of God. What do we find when we are taken back - into the heart of the eternal God? We find love. We discover that …

Learning from Genesis 1 (8): A voice from the ancient past

Genesis 1 From its very first verse, the Bible speaks to us as a voice from the ancient past and a message for our present and our future. The Bible speaks to every generation because it is a Word that comes to us from the eternal God, the everlasting God, the God who is both …

Learning from Genesis 1 (7): This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Here, we are taken back to the beginning. Immediately, we feel that we are way out of our depth. Everything is surrounded by mystery. This is too much of us. We try to understand, but we can't take it all in. We confess our faith. We …

Learning from Genesis 1 (6): The beginning

We go back to the first verse of the Bible: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). When did this world begin? Who can say that they know the answer to this question? What is important in this first verse of the Bible? Is it when did the world begin? …