Jacob's Ladder?
The sunset tonight reminded me of the ladder Jacob dreamt about early in this week's reading. Ever pondered the significance of this image? I have been this week and i dare you to dig a little with me! There is much to be found i assure you...

Some suggested starting points... Look at the cross refs, look up the use of ladder elsewhere, think about gates (Jacob calls it the gate of heaven), and try to answer the question "why would angels need a ladder?"

Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9)

I liked Sarah's short Questions post last week so much that I'm going to follow suit, and post just one question...

Genesis 25:21-22 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

In these two verses we see how struggle moved first Isaac and then Rebekah to go to the LORD with their concerns.

Are you struggling with anything? Are you uncomfortable in any area? Are there promises He's spoken to you, but the way seems to be blocked with all manner of troublesome darkness?

Perhaps He is moving you to genuinely talk to Him about it... and perhaps He is moving you to release His will "on earth as it is in heaven" by praying in faith.

I'm just silly enough to believe what His Word says about prayer, and to believe these examples of faith are for us to follow.

How about you?

Vayera: The God of Vision (Genesis 18-22)

Today we learned about the God of Vision... YHWH Yireh (Yahweh will see). God manifested to and through Abraham and Isaac the vision of His ultimate victory over death, as He returned Isaac to Abraham as though from the dead (John 8, Heb 11). We learned that our God sees our need, and the provision for that need, and He also wants to be seen by us... He desires a face-to-face relationship with those who seek His face with clean hands and pure hearts. Finally, we learned once again that "vision brings restraint," and concluded with a prayer that the God of Vision would continue to give Echo vision, and that, "like the mountain where Isaac was offered, this Body would be a place for His Name, and a place where He dwells. I pray that, according to the vision that He has given me, this people would be a place known as ‘YHWH Shammah’ that is, YHWH is There."

But wait, there's more! :) Yep, there are areas that I began to explore, but quickly realized were beyond the scope of this week's sermon. Here are some thoughts and questions to consider as you walk in His Word this week, continuing to follow in Abraham's steps of faith...

• "Lamb" or "Ram"? Abraham said God would provide a lamb, but God provided a ram! Ahah! Proof of contradiction! Well, wait... Lamb = simply sheep, one of the flock. A ram is a male sheep, and He chooses to make it clear that it is a male sheep that He chooses for a sacrifice. This little sidetrack brought to my mind someone else’s step of faith way back in the early chapters of Genesis…
  
  Genesis 4:4 "Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;"
  
  From Hebrews 11 we know that Abel made a better sacrifice by faith, and we know that that sacrifice was of the first-born sheep… so now with these two stories we have God’s accepted sacrifice identified as first-born male sheep… and it is just this way that Christ is identified in the New Testament… the first born of creation, and God’s only son (as Isaac was Abraham’s only son of faith). Maybe one of you can add to this little thought-pretzel.

• "Ra'ah" Do a little search for this verb and see some of the way cool places it appears, especially in Genesis.
• "YHWH Appeared" Do a search for where people "ra'ah'd" YHWH, and their responses. Of particular note is Exodus 33:11... "the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face..." Did He stop meeting with Him that way? Vs 20 seems to suggest He stopped appearing to Moses this way... If so, why? I've got some ideas, and we'll come to it, oh, sometime in March... but for those who love His face NOW, I don't think He'd be offended if we looked into these matters a little now... :)

Happy digging, fellow kings, prophets, and priests... and fellow SHEEP/SHEPHERDS! Eat well, that you may feed others well. You are LOVED.

Lekh L'kha! Abraham's Steps of Faith (Genesis 12-17)

We learned today about Abram becoming Abraham, the father of all who follow in his steps of faith (Romans 4:12). In Genesis 12:1 we saw that Abram's first recorded step of faith was to respond to YHWH's call to "lekh l'kha" or "get yourself going" ... away from his father's house, from his family, from his homeland, and all that was familiar. We also learned that this in itself was a type of circumcision... the removal of a protective covering that was in place for a time, but that at some point is removed, yielding greater sensitivity and greater response-ability (ability to respond). Finally, we were challenged to ask God to reveal areas of protection that are ready to be removed, and then to empower us to come to Him for the Divine/Human surgery of heart circumcision.

I look forward to witnessing the miracle of circumcision in this Body, as you share about the steps of faith that God calls you to take. Take courage, little flock, He is with you and will complete the work He has begun!

While we're waiting together, He's given us beautiful encouragemant through the words and images found in this week's Torah passage, especially when read alongide the "echoes" found in the prophets and in B'rit Chadashah (the New Testament). It's with this in mind that I hope you will enjoy walking down one or more of the following paths:

• "Leave your family" (Gen 12:1) God has created us in such a way that family ties are necessarily strong. At the same time, however, He calls special people to transcend natural family ties to join a spiritual family. Where else in Scripture are some people encouraged to walk away from family? (Hint: there are at least two other places, not including Jesus' teaching in the Gospels!) To whom is He speaking in these cases? How is this "love?"

• "King of righteousness" (Gen 14:18-20) Find other passages that refer to "Melchizedek," "King of Peace," and "King of Righteousness." What is a righteous king, in God's eyes? (Hint: what does Torah say? that is, what does the Law say about kings?) What does God say about kingship in eternity? (Hint: what do the prophets say about kings? include Revelation in your search!)

• "Horror and great darkness" (Gen 15:12) Ah, here is a beautiful example of the "darkness of the godly" that we found in Isaiah 50:10 and Psalm 139:12. Study the Hebrew for "dark" each of these places. What words does God say in each of these situations? Can you identify where you are or have been in darkness since you've believed? How has it helped you to learn to love?

Happy digging, fellow kings, prophets, and priests! Eat well, that you may feed others well. You are LOVED.

Noah (Genesis 6:9-11:32)

Blessings Echo!

Here are some questions to help guide our study. A lot of things jumped out at me this week, and I don't expect that we will get to study all of the items below. I may not always mention studying the Hebrew or Greek words, but don't let that stop you from picking out keywords to dig into! Feel free to post your responses to any of the questions, and PLEASE post your own questions and ponderings!
We'll take a look at some of these (plus questions for next week's reading) the next time we get together (November 10th, 6pm at Oxford Starbucks).

• Genesis 8:20-21 Noah's Sacrifice. Today we talked briefly about Noah's sacrifice of animals that had just been saved from the flood. God was pleased by this sacrifice, and by Noah's faith. The sacrifice, as far as we can tell, was not given as payment or to try to get God to do anything. What kinds of sacrifices do you offer? Why do you offer them?


• Genesis 9:22 Noah's Nakedness is Covered. Have you noticed a brother's or sister's "nakedness" lately? Have you "echoed" Ham by telling others, or have you "echoed" Shem and Japheth by covering instead?


• Genesis 10:6-14 Cush. Looking at your Bible maps, try to identify where the sons of Cush ended up. Do were hear about people from these areas later on? Remember, Genesis tells of the "beginning" of many nations, not just Israel. God has a plan for these other people, too!


• Genesis 10:6-14 (again) Nimrod, the "Mighty Hunter." (Study the Hebrew words!) Can you identify some other "hunters" in Scripture? What might this group of characters tell us about being a hunter, and God's perspective on hunters?


• Genesis 11:1-9 Babel. Tower-building was briefly mentioned during today's sermon. What does a tower symbolize, here and throughout Scripture? What towers do you run to, and what towers do you build for your own name? Contrast ark-building and its purpose with tower-building and its purpose.
  
• Genesis 11:30 Sarai's Barrenness. Take a look at the Haftorah reading in Isaiah (54-55). What is barrenness? (Study the Hebrew word!) Are you experiencing or have you experienced any areas of barrenness? Do you have a testimony of fruitfulness now, or perhaps a present burden that we can share? How can barrenness help us learn to love?