The Baby Wars in Genesis- Life Can Get Messy

In Genesis, the records we read are portraits of the families of men like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We can read about their wives and children. There are parallel stories of Abel and Cain, Isaac and Ismael, Jacob and Esau that show two divergent ideologies. Some of these men had multiple wives, some of them were monogamous.  As humanity developed, things became more complex and stained. God's original intent for man was being undermined by something other than the love of God.

In Chapters 29-30 the battle of the child-rearing wars exploded with the offspring of Jacob. He had 12 sons and a daughter named Dinah. In all of this Jacob, had 2 wives and two surrogate wives. The wives named the children with names that protrayed the baby war. From a human nature point of view, the difficulties and disfunction are understandable. Added to this a pinch of religion and it can be looked upon as one big mess. Is is any wonder that the offspring of Jacob had issues?

The men and women of the Old testament were human beings full of faults and failures, a result of snacking off the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All of the the idiosyncrasies of culture exist because of choice by man. God provided life, love, and contentment. In man's attempt to improve on God's provision, things got messy. It is written all over Genesis.

Man hasn't changed. Neither has God! God has unceasing love for man. He provides a way out. Man has got to remember that God is not a 'controlling' God, he is a 'free will choice' God. In providing choice, he sent his son as THE plan of salvation.  He did not send a policeman, a politician, a lawyer, Big Bird, a mountain, a sunset or even a denomination or non-denomination. His plan is His plan. It is in what Jesus Christ did that we obtain real life, not only in this world, but in the one to come. All God asks is that we recognize the Lordship of Jesus Christ and believe the extraordinary miracle that God raised him from the dead. Then, in a miracle above all miracles God gave us help by sending His very essence in the form of His spirit to energizes, help, instruct and direct our paths in His Word. He is so willing to deliver, no matter how dark the world gets.

 God is everything good. He deserves no blame for the darkness of the world. When darkness fell on the earth it was another force that caused it. God IS light! There is no darkness in Him whatsoever.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all

The stories about the men and women in the Genesis provide us with a big picture of how loving God is in helping His people even in the most dire challenges.

(NIV) I Corinthians 13:4-8b: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails......