Everywhere Under The Rainbow We Can Fly

As I was driving on a familiar road recently, I was reminded of an incident that had happened along that road several years ago. The evening had been the end of a warming spring day and my husband and I were in the car driving to someones's house. On the west side of the car, the sky suddenly turned pea-green, nasty and windy. It was truly ominous looking! It was very strange because as I turned and looked out of the passenger side of the car a huge rainbow sprawled over a blue sky! I watched the rainbow all the way to our destination and it was a great lesson for me on where to put my focus.

In Philippians 4:6-8 is a great gem on dealing with pressure:

⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

In analyzing what we think about, it is not about what we should not think about, rather it is about what we should focus on. I know that sounds confusing but Genesis 39 is a good example of Joseph's mindset that enabled him to successfully take advantage of God's help when he faced situations that endeavored to take him down.

When Joseph got to Egypt he was sold to the captain of the guard.  God was with him and he prospered and even brought  prosperity to his owner. It was not a lovely situation to have been sold into slavery by your brothers, but he forged ahead regardless. I'm sure that pressure was always around, he dealt with it by not letting it stop him from moving ahead. Even when more pressure presented itself in a situation from the deceptive captain's wife, he went forward despite being thrown in prison unjustly. From there he ended up getting the Pharaoh's attention, and rose to the top assisting Pharoah as his right hand man. God prosper him and now even the whole country of Egypt benefited from the grace of God. Pharaoh is recorded to have said:

And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is? Genesis 41:38

In this world there is the good and evil; there's right and there's wrong. Joseph did some amazing things. The ups and downs are very visible in Chapter 39. Several times in the chapter we can read about God prospering Joseph. We have the advantage of being able to read later outcomes which are amazing, but Joseph did the 'one day at a time' thing.

Rainbows are beautiful. They are made when light passes through a medium such as a prism or even a small drop of water! The medium slows light's speed so that it breaks up into various colors and hues. Guess who designed the rainbow!? Pretty good huh? Remember Genesis 9:14? They are much prettier than storms. It is a great reminder of a 'God so loving that he gave'.

16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:14

Preserving the Line: Tamar and Judah

In chapter 38, Judah seems to take a detour.  In verse one, it is recorded that he went down from his brethren and started hanging out with a Canaanite named Hirah. He even married a Canaanite (Uh-oh!) and she bore him three sons: Er, Onan and Shelah. In what sounds like a soap opera, two of the sons died and left Shelah, the only one to redeem Tamar, Er's wife, by providing an offspring (remember Genesis is all about 'seed':Genesis 3:15) to perpetuate the family line. Shelah was too young at the time, so Judah sent Tamar back to her father's house to wait for him to grow up. Judah had already lost two sons and maybe he was tentative about the union of Tamar and Shelah, so this union did not come to pass.

Tamar realized what had happened and she posed as a harlot. She seduced Judah after the death of his wife. She was veiled so that he wouldn't recognize her. He promised her a lamb from his flock. As a pledge for the lamb, Tamar asked for some collateral and Judah gave her his signet, bracelets and his staff. These were valuable items to a tribal leader. Tamar disappeared after that and Judah tried to find the 'harlot'  through his buddy, Mirah, to exchange the lamb for his items, but could not find her.

Three months after the incident Tamar was rumored to be pregnant. Judah upon hearing the news,  condemned her to be burned for whoredoms not realizing he was the father. Face to face she presented him with the signet, bracelets and staff. Oops! Tamar ends up having twins Pharez and Zarah whose names appear in the genealogy of Matthew 1 of the royal Christ line. Both names appear interestingly enough with the addition of another name:

³ And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar (Tamar); and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; Matthew 1:3

Tamar is mentioned also with the names of the twins. The Christ line involved  the offspring of Pharez, but Zarah is also mentioned. Four other women have mentions in this genealogy: Rahab, Ruth, 'her of Urias' (Bathsheba) and Mary.

Ruth was a Moabite descendent of Lot. Lot's daughters were impregnated by their father  to preserve their line. Bathsheba was the woman David became involved with after sending her husband off to the front lines. Mary was found to be pregnant with the Messiah before her marriage to Joseph. Rahab was an innkeeper who housed and hid Joshua's spies of the promised land.  Tamar had to disguise herself as a harlot to Judah in order to conceive. All the women except Mary were gentiles.  None of this is what one would expect. One might be tempted to think God needed a PR agent. How did all these things happen this way?

God so loved the 'world'! The 'world' stands for humanity! All these people were bonifide human beings.  God worked with what he had! Rahab believed the God of Israel so much so she endangered her life to become a part of them (Joshua 2:9-13). Tamar was interested in preserving the seed of Judah. Ruth chose to follow Niaomi's God (Ruth 1:16). Her story is a story of redemption. 'Her of Urias' raised Solomon who wrote the book of Proverbs. Mary helped change the course of spiritual history!

Sibling Rivalry

The twelve sons of Jacob became the foundational family of Israel. In Genesis 37, the focus of Jacob's family is on the sibling relationships of the twelve. In verse one, the record indicates that Jacob was living in Canaan. In the ensuing verses, we find out that Joseph was a favorite of his father, Jacob, because he was a child of his old age. He gave him a beautiful coat of many colors. This did not sit well with his brothers.

In verse two,  we read about Joseph tending sheep with four of his brothers: Naphtali and Dan, (who's mother was Rachel's servant, Bilhah) and Gad and Asner (born of Zilpah, Leah's servant).  Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel (three varieties of half-brothers listed here, there were four in total). These mixed polygamous marriages spawned complicated and difficult relationships. Joseph returned to Jacob from tending sheep and delivered an evil report on some things going on. The end result was more ill feelings.

Joseph had a dream in the middle of all this, that stirred up even more dislike. God had called Joseph to be a leader.  Joseph's brothers' reactions to this dream were predictable:

⁸ And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. Genesis 37:8

His father's reaction to a second similar dream was recorded in verses 10-11:

¹⁰ And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? ¹¹ And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

The brothers were ready to kill him. Ruben and Judah stepped in and it was decided to sell Joseph to traveling Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver and that is how Joseph ended up in Egypt. The rest of Genesis is about the Joseph story from chapters 37, 39-50. We can read the detailed outcome of all this by reading the ending, but Joseph could not have seen this. He must have trusted in Almighty God by putting one foot in front of the other and believing day by day.

When the brothers decided to get rid of him, the coat was one of the first things to go. Then they cast him in a pit. When stuff like this happens, it can be attributed to several things: like jealousy, envy and anger. All these feelings thrive in a mind where there is a lack in trust and believing in the Almighty God. The outcome of all of it, whether the brothers understood it or not, was to try to bring Joseph down in his own mind and challenge what God had called him to do.  Joseph found himself at the bottom of a pit, without the beautiful coat and he knew that his brothers had turned against him.

The only answer for Joseph was God as we will see later. The story of Joseph is one of believing, success, victory, forgiveness in true sense of forgiveness, the story of a man in whom the spirit of God was, and most important: the love of God for His people:

¹⁸ Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.²⁰ Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. Micah 7:18-20

Marriages in Genesis

Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, U.S. Army (ret.) recently said:
"I have said, and many men agree with me, that Adam’s rib was the greatest investment in human history. Why? Because God then gave man woman, a different creature, who complemented him. God did it on purpose, and we are privileged to live with the differences. Feminists et al., get over it. It is not discrimination to accommodate God’s design; it is acknowledging His will – it is wisdom."(reference)

In Genesis, God mentions several husband and wife teams: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and  Rebekah. If you read through their records, the complementation can be clearly seen. Jacob's life was a little more messy as he had two wives to deal with. On his Facebook profile under 'Relationship Status' he would have had to write: 'It's complicated'!

Originally God gave Adam a 'help meet'. 

Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

The words 'help meet' are clearly about a complementer. The words in Hebrew are 'ezer kenegdo' which means 'helper' 'in the sight of', 'opposite to' 'in front of' and ''suitable'. Some translations translate these words as 'helper suitable to'. In the Greek Septuagint these words are translated 'bonthon kata' or 'helper according to him'. To be a 'suitable' helper means there is complementation in that as a need arises, something else provides a help or support. (See Acts 27:17 'helps' for this word)

When we read through the records of these pairs in Genesis, there are many examples of  how they complemented each other, not only physically (which is obvious), but mentally and spiritually as well. We can see it very clearly with situations involving their children: Isaac and Ishmael; Jacob and Esau.

Sometimes husband can be right and the wife wrong (Samson and Delilah). At other times the wife can be right and the husband wrong (Abigail and Nabal). When both are wrong, things are not the best (just look at Adam and Eve). When both carry out God's word in their lives, it is very powerful (ex. Priscilla and Aquila).

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

1 + 1 + God is very powerful. Even if you are not married this applies. We all need friends to speak those things that are suitably helpful to us (Esther and Mordecai example).

In marriage, when two people commit to a lifelong relationship, there is always pressure.   Each has the potential for good as well as evil. No one is perfect and we have to understand that when there is disagreement. There is nothing wrong with disagreement when it is ultimately handled with wisdom from God. Sometimes it takes a little bit of work and time to get to this point (there are several example of this with the Genesis pairs). It is God's word and His spirit that resides within us that sorts it all out. There are rich rewards in pulling together for good.

Big Names

Every time I get to a new person to study in Genesis, I am amazed at the situations that God has chosen to illuminate about their lives, starting with the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. They all fell short in some way or another. In the beginning these individuals lived for centuries (before the bloodlines became corrupted with man's shenanigans and shortcuts for healthy living). They had many experiences, stories and victories to draw from. Yet God selects what he reveals about each one so that we can clearly see His love. The story in Genesis is what God did and is doing for man. What man was doing for God never really enters into the discourse. The more a man or woman focuses on the 'me' in their lives, the more screwed up things become. It helps us to change our focus to God.

We need to understand God, he doesn't need to work on understanding us. He already knows us.

Psalm 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

The first Adam was made of the dust of the world. The second Adam helped us gain a more enduring spiritual body. This is our 'treasure in an earthen vessel'.

I Corinthians 15:44-45 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

While I regard the great men and women of the Bible with respect, I am understanding more and more the proper perspective of their lives.  God's perspective!

So often in life we elevate people and are drawn to the great names of the times whom we admire. We often see position, education, personality, and titles first and that influences us.  We elevate people and are effected by their lives. We act differently around certain ones both in positive and negative ways. We turn a deaf ear on those we don't consider important and we sometimes blindly follow those who tell us what we want to hear or don't want to take the time to think it through. There is danger in these ways of thinking.

We get so blessed when we decide to go to God and His Word. The Word and the spirit of God in us helps guide our thoughts to the truly good things. I'm not saying that teachers are not important. Teaching is a means to an end, it is never the end. We are responsible to read, think and apply the Word to our lives. We are the ones to pray and talk to God. Each of us are responsible to the answers to life that are true.

I got up this morning thinking I might listen to a tape or DVD or read a book. Sometimes it is so easy to do that instead of just reading the Word. When I sit down with Genesis or whatever other topic I'm working, it takes thinking, praying and working. As I sat down today, I started thinking about a section in Job and then I saw it's implications in the lives of the men and women portrayed in Genesis and I got very busy and excited. It has been a fun morning!

In Genesis, Abraham  and Sarah and Jacob were given names by God. These names represented their position and education in life. Jesus Christ was given a name above all names by God. Consider his education, his position and his title in this world while he lived.   In the end, we look at all the people in the Bible in light of what God did for and through them.  We have access to God just as they did. When we read about them, they are the means to a rich, valuable and fruitful relationship with God.

Jacob's Prayer and Our Prayers

In Genesis 28:15, 31:1-13, God told Jacob what was going on around him in regards to the end of his time in Harran with Laban and his returning to where Esau was.  In verse 3 and again in verse 13,  He gave Jacob specific instructions:

¹⁵ And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

³ And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. 

¹³ I am the God of Bethel ( a location that had meaning to Jacob), where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

  There is a very clear example of Abraham praying to carry this out in Genesis 32: 9-12:

 ⁹ And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.¹¹ Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.¹² And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. Genesis 32:9-12:

There are several key aspects of this prayer we can learn from:

•  The first thing Jacob said was 'O God' in acknowledgement of where help comes from.
•  Jacob also repeated God's instructions and promises.
•  In verse 10, Jacob exhibited his humbleness and thankfulness.
•  Jacob then laid out specific details and his concerns.

This prayer has great practical applications for us today when it is compared to  I Timothy 2:1 and Philippians 4:6,7,8. When God promises and instructs us there is no shame in having concerns that one needs help with. When God gives us instructions and tasks to do, we need to believe and carry it out and remember what He has promised. At times this can be tough as there are forces in operation that tell us otherwise.

Many many years ago, before I really understood what revelation from God was, I remember clearly a promise of God specific to a situation that I had prayed about. The answer was so simple and clear even to the point of establishing a location that was involved in its fulfillment.  I didn't realize it until much later. The reason for that all was for encouragement and keeping the promise intact when the 'wrestling' in opposition to it popped up in my mind.

When we pray we enter into an agreement for help. Jacob had several appearances from angels to help him along.  In the grace administration in which we live, we have the spirit of God within to comfort and instruct us. Prayer is important for our own sakes. We should never underestimate its value.

Looking Out For The Folks

A friend recently sent me a message and included a section from Psalm 33:12. I got to thinking about the words of that verse in the King James Version. After reading the context of the verse, the word 'nation' perplexed me. When we think of nations today, ethnic diversity, political structures and governments come to mind. Early in the course of human history as seen in Genesis, however, this word would refer to groups of people from a common origin.

Psalm 33:11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. ¹² Blessed is the nation (people) whose God is the Lord ; and the people (the folks) whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.¹³ The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.¹⁴ From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. ¹⁵ He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.¹⁶ There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. ¹⁷ An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; ¹⁹ To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. ²⁰ Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. ²¹ For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

When God blesses a group of people it is because they look to Him and recognize that He is looking out for them.  The world is full of people who worship a certain 'God'.  They are not all the same 'God'. The word 'God' is a title just like 'king' or 'president'. Specifically, we recognize the 'God' of the Bible as our 'help and shield'. He is the  Father of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Through the obedience of Jesus Christ we have access to the Father through His spirit.

The United States of America is a great country because of groups of people with the common origin of the new birth who have desired to see God's principles have free course in our culture. These people were free to have influence on our society throughout the course of its history. The founding fathers of this country had this in mind when they designed our government.The same can be said of other countries throughout history. History has many stories of wonderful people standing up for God.

Some days and eras are darker than others, but just as the prophets of old endeavored to remind Israel of its position in God's eyes, the same is true today.  We must be bold to speak the truth in love, be bold in our thankfulness, pray effectually and act as God opens the door to help. The graven and real life images which our culture surround us with does not need to deter us in our service or excitement.

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......

Love is a Big Word!

Last night I read II and III John and was amazed at how many times the word 'truth' is used. John refers to 'truth' in one way or another 28 times in I, II, III John (all three contain 7 chapters in total). Another word quite frequently used by John is 'love'. In all of John's writings love and truth are interwoven throughout like a beautiful vibrant tapestry.

Recently I heard about someone reciting the pledge of allegiance and substituting the word 'love' for 'God'. Are we 'one nation under God'?  The answer to that is: 'probably not'. When someone says 'one nation under love', I have to ask: "How do you define love?" Where do we learn what love is? Where do we learn how to love one another?

I John 5:1-3 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Love and truth are intimately intertwined for someone who believes in God. We don't define love; God does. As I have been working through Genesis, I have realized even more emphatically, that God's love permeates the whole Bible. Genesis is a foundational book for understanding the love of God. It has added a richness to reading things in the New Testament. The epistles of John are some of the last writings recorded in the Word of God. God is faithful to His Word throughout.

In I John 3:12, there is a reference to 'the way of Cain' from Genesis 4.  Cain reinvented God's word to suit his own thinking and lashed back at God in disagreement when confronted by God Himself. Cain's brother Abel was annihilated in the process. This is not the way of love and truth.

In our modern times, this 'reinventing' of God happens more often than not. At present, there is a growing trend to see love as synonymous with 'tolerance'. Tolerance may be involved as a part of loving someone, but 'love' is a much bigger word. We cannot redefine love outside of truth. In order to really love, we need to understand how God loves and believe that He can work in us. We get that understanding by delving into God's Word. It is the truth that manifests love and sets us free and then we can truly help others.

At The Well

The Isaac record in Genesis 26 is very interesting. Isaac dug a lot of wells. Wells were and still are extremely important in that area for livestock, farming and life in general. Abraham's wells had been filled in with earth by the Philistines. Isaac re-dug them and renamed them by the names his father had used. His servants dug a well in the valley of Gerar. Herdsmen needed water for their flocks and the herdsmen of Gerar contended with Isaac for the well so he called this well Esek ('strife'or 'contention'). When they dug the next well the same thing happened, so Isaac called the well Sitnah (opposition, hostility and accusation). Finally he dug Rehoboth.

Genesis 26:22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

This record brought to mind a section in the New Testament referring to Isaac's son Jacob's well: 

John 4:12-14 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

I always get goosebumps when I read those verses. Jesus Christ was making a beautiful illustration about who he was and he meant for her life. She lived in Samaria. Samaria was a  city in the northern part of Israel. In the Old Testament, Assyria conquered the inhabitants of that region and had taken them captive to Assyria, replacing them in the region of Samaria with five foreign tribes (II Kings:17:23-24) each having their own gods to worship. When the captives came home they intermixed with these tribes. They became a group of people who were looked down upon by the Judeans who thought they themselves were the true descendants of Judaism. The Samaritans were shunned and considered a half-breed to those who lived in Judea.

Ever since I can remember, sitting in church as a child, I have wondered so many things about God. It wasn't until I focused on the Word of God that I felt that I had any solid answers. I found out about Jesus Christ and his implications to the spiritual life. He is the way, the truth and the reality of the fountain of living waters. We receive the very nature of God in the gift of holy spirit through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God.

I spent time looking into many different types of churches: small groups, large groups, organic churches, traditional churches, non-denominational, and mainline churches. I went from well to well to test the waters. Sometimes I found wells that were filled with earthy things. Sadly, I also found wells that involved strife, hostility and accusation. Religion can be cruel and confusing at times. Finally, I found Rehoboth in truly understanding the Lordship of Jesus Christ! It was the beginning of sonship and the end of feeling shunned or being labeled as a half-breed.

True discipleship is not about sheep lapping the muddied waters of religious rituals. True discipleship comes from digging one's own well in the Word and expecting crystal clear bubbling water from the fountain. Sometimes we get help from other fellow-seekers. Sometimes we feel very much on our own. Regardless, God always provides what we need!

Isaiah 12:2-3 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Cliff Notes

In the events in Genesis, it is clear that the godly patriarchs interacted with the political leaders of those early times. It was Adam's son, Cain, who built the first city ('polis' in Greek). Nimrod who was the great-grandson of Noah (and also established cities), was a leader who stood against God politically. Abraham, Joseph and Jacob interacted with the Pharaoh. Isaac and Abraham dealt with Abimelech, the kings of Gerar.  Some of these rulers benefited God's people, others were destructive. Political cultures have been around since the beginning of time.

The culture we live in today is extremely polar politically. Have you ever wondered if Jesus would have been a Republican or a Democrat?  Many Republicans today believe Christianity is best represented by Republicanism. Likewise, there are many Democrats that think they are the loving Christian party. Jesus Christ would have been neither! He was the son of God. He loved as his Father loves.  His handling of political people and issues would have been based on the Word.  Matthew (who was a tax-collector) recorded a great incident about Jesus' handling of a tax situation:

Matthew 17:24-27 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money (didrachma = 2 drachma= half shekel temple flat tax of Exodus 30:11-16)  came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented (jumped ahead of) him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute (kensos=poll tax)? of their own children, or of strangers?  Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money (strater = 4 drachma coin): that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

In our culture today, the President's children pay taxes if they work.  In Bible times, the king's children did not pay taxes. In Matthew 16:16, Peter already had acknowledged that Jesus was the son of God. He was the king's son, therefore exempt from taxes. The Hebrews were not there yet in their thinking.  Jesus handled the situation by  providing a humble (Romans 15:1) miraculous solution that would avoid scandal. Miracles often occur for the benefit of those watching. He sent Peter fishing. Peter pulled up a fish that had a coin worth 4 drachmas in it's mouth. God supplied money for the tax for both Jesus and Peter.

Politics often engages in cliff-hanging because of conflicts of interests. It seems like such a no-win situation. We  can only look to God for what we need. The job of a leader is not to promote his own ideology but to serve. Misusing scripture as a means to an end is repugnant to God. Our belief system is set in God's Word. We don't pray to our leaders for what we need, we pray for them to make wise and just decisions, free from unsavory pressures.  God is our sufficiency. So what do we do with everything that is going on today? Paul had a great solution:

1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.