
Today, we come to Genesis 36, which gives us the account of Esau’s family and descendants. Although we are not particularly attracted to or excited about reading a long chapter that presents a genealogical record – especially about Esau – nevertheless it is important for us to recognize that God promised blessings to all of Abraham’s descendants. Thus, God has an interest in Esau’s family line, and He presents it to us here. However, from today’s readings, Genesis 37 is probably more striking to us – “the account of Jacob” (verse 2). Notably, it begins not with Jacob but with “Joseph” (verse 2). Joseph is the pride and joy of Jacob as well as the central focus of Jacob’s life; notice this – “Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons” (verse 3). Here, we see that Abraham’s favor of Isaac (cf., Genesis 25:5-6) persists down through the family line, but parental favoritism of one child over another is not good parenting – it breeds unwelcome consequences. God informs us about Joseph’s dreams, followed by Jacob’s initial reaction to receiving Joseph’s bloody robe – presented to him by Joseph’s brothers. Although Jacob clearly recognized Joseph’s robe, he foolishly jumped to numerous false conclusions that were completely unrelated to reality (i.e., to truth). Joseph’s brothers unnecessarily enhance the story, but Jacob, who is true to typical human nature, simply assumes (i.e., believes) what he wants to believe – that Joseph must be dead. However, in reality, Joseph is not dead; he’s on his way to Egypt. This illustrates how quickly and readily we can fall into a false belief system that is grounded in weak or insufficient evidence. Things are not always what they appear to be. Evidence that is inconsistent with the truth – whether visible or invisible – is no evidence at all. Nothing offers stronger evidence for the truth than God’s revelation. Evidence for any truth must always be consistent with the Word of God. In this story, the truth about Joseph is invisible to Jacob. The mere existence of blood visible on a robe may be considered as possible evidence, but it offers no tangible proof whatsoever concerning Joseph’s actual condition of life at that moment. The robe only appears with deceptive enhancements by the brothers to suggest that Joseph might be dead. At that moment, Joseph on the road to Egypt offers much stronger evidence to support that Joseph is alive – it’s just unavailable to Jacob – but it’s not unavailable to God. We must always guard ourselves against belief systems that are inconsistent with reality and truth; these are God’s domains, not man’s. We will have more to say about Joseph’s robe tomorrow.
Psalm 10:12-18 reminds us that “the LORD is King forever,” and “He defends orphans and oppressed” people (verses 10-18). God is the “Helper of the fatherless,” and He promises to “break the arm of the wicked and evil man – to call that man to account for his wickedness that would [otherwise] not be found out” (verse 15). The Psalmist also clarifies that God does this so “that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more” (verse 18). When I think of a passage like this, I recognize and thank God that He is our Anchor Who provides for us the reliable, steadfast, and blessed hope.
In Matthew 13:18-35, Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the Sower. “the message about the kingdom … is the seed sown … in the hearer’s heart” (verse 19). Luke tells us that the “seed is the Word of God” (cf., Luke 8:11). However, the problems of sowing seed are not contained in the seed, but rather in the soil into which the seed is sown. We see as well that the “evil one” causes difficulty, because he “snatches away what was sown” [in the soil of the hearer’s heart, cf., verse 19]. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus quoted Isaiah and said that “the people’s hearts have become calloused” and they have closed their ears and eyes” (cf., Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:15). Not only was this true in Jesus’ day, but also it characterizes post-modern man in our day. It amazes me how people today will turn a deaf ear to the good news of salvation. It’s like someone who owes a massive debt that another person has offered to pay, but the debtor responds, “No! I refuse to accept your help.” Who would do that? If we look around ourselves, we see the answer – our neighbors; our friends; our relatives. In this section, Jesus teaches three more parables: [1] the parable of the weeds; [2] the parable of the mustard seed; and [3] the parable of the yeast. These parables relate to the truth (i.e., the wheat as the “bread of truth”) versus the lie (i.e., the weeds as the lie that chokes the truth); the extensiveness of the gospel outreach (in the mustard seed); and the inner intensiveness and effectiveness of the gospel outreach (i.e., as in the yeast). When the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do you speak in parables? He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (13:10-11). Kingdom secrets are privileged information; let’s protect them judiciously.
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