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Life can feel lonely and overwhelming. Still, your life is both seen and cherished. God is working fiercely behind the scenes of your life. He worked to bring astonishing triumphs to the lives of four historical characters who faced devastating, alienating, and even life-threatening situations. Friend, God is working!
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Most parents dream great dreams for their children. It’s only natural I suppose. But what if your child comes through miraculous means? What if his birth is personally announced by God? What if that child is dedicated to the LORD from the womb and is declared a future savior of your people? What hopes does a mother cherish then? I don’t refer here to the Lord Jesus but to Samson, Israel’s Judge.
Pharaoh’s fatal law must have arrived sometime after the birth of Aaron since he was alive and didn’t appear to be in danger of the edict. Unfortunately for Jochebed, her third pregnancy collided with the crisis of the decree. The king’s war against a nation found its target in her womb. But this mother would remember God’s former work of salvation.
In other words, atonement of sin is settled for those whose trust is in Christ alone. So then God doesn’t love you less when you sin today and more when you obey tomorrow. Instead He loves you because you are His—an adopted son/daughter, made clean through His Son and sealed and preserved by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13-14).
But what of your persistent sins? Here, we find that Christ still washes the feet of His disciples. What do I mean? “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean” (John 13:10). Those justified in Christ are Simul Justus et Peccator—at the same time just (or righteous) and sinner. We are positioned in Christ and are seen by God through His imputed righteousness yet inherently we sin. We are clean saints with dirty feet. But just as our justification is achieved by God alone, so is our sanctification enabled by Him alone.
The outcast Tamar was languishing away from God’s covenant family because of superstition and neglect of duty. God had promised to bless Abraham and his offspring (Gen. 12:1-3). This blessing would extend to all the families of the earth—as far as the curse is found. We caught a glimpse of this when God sustained Hagar and her boy for Abraham’s sake (Gen. 21:13, 20). Would this blessing stretch to Tamar too?
Thoughts of pregnancy must have consumed Rachel. Each month brought a fresh hope and then the bloody reality of her emptiness. I can’t help but remember God’s poem to Woman: “In pain you shall bring forth children.” The pain of Genesis 3:16 includes infertility as much as it does labor contractions. The effects of the Fall are here—but so is God’s mercy.
Leah was a third wheel in her own household. Her husband slept with her but didn’t honor her with love. What tears those weak eyes must have shed! Jacob didn’t regard her—but God saw her. The giver of life enabled her to bear six sons and at least one daughter, Dinah (Gen. 30:19-21). The names of her sons are telling. They testify to her hope and her great suffering.
There should have been a “happily-ever-after” ending to Rebekah’s story. Rather, the author tells the account—not as a fairy tale but—as the drama of a post-Genesis 3 family. There’s discord in marriage, favoritism among parents, sibling rivalry, crafty lies, and threats of death. The deception that began in Eden crept its way to Genesis 24-28 and into Rebekah’s family. But the God of Eden is also in these chapters.
Lot’s wife was surrounded by men and women of faith. She witnessed God’s work through the lives of these others – and even had angles stay in her home, later escorting her personally to safety (Genesis 19:1-22)! Yet she falls into eternal judgment for her gaze was on her possessions and her life in Sodom rather than on the Savior. The Lord Jesus uses this woman as an example in Luke 17:29-32. He states that when judgment comes, remember Lot’s wife, for whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it but whoever loses his life will keep it.
I believed myself a Christian long before I was. I grew up attending church, affirming the existence of God, and even praying to the Lord Jesus but there was nothing much beyond this. I had no affection for Christ: no true worship; no fervency in prayer; no hunger for His Word. Was I wild and unruly? Not at all. I was motivated to do well in school and so made straight A’s. I was eager to please at home and so assisted in the care of younger siblings. I enjoyed simple contemplation and so read volumes of Jane Austen in quiet corners. I was even made an example by some as a good girl – but saved I was not.
Within a year, Sarah conceived, Isaac. His name means “laughter.” God turned the source of Sarah’s laughter from cynicism to joy (Gen. 21:6-7). And her laughter reminds us that God’s gift of children is never given because of our works, but by his grace. Human reproduction, like spiritual regeneration, is ultimately the merciful work of the living God (Jn. 1:12-13).
We have all tasted temptation. For the Christian, temptation is both a pre- and post-regeneration reality. James, writing to Jewish believers, states: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:13-15).
This woman—who had obeyed the voice of the cunning snake—deserved nothing but death. Yet there she was, alive and producing life. Eve knew that her child was God-wrought and not the product of her own strength or merit. She called her son Cain. The name sounds like the Hebrew word for “gotten.”1 God had given her offspring—would this one be the serpent-crusher she longed for?
I love the book of Deuteronomy. Not necessarily for its copious detail but for the concept behind the book. Deuteronomy is essentially one big study hall. Moses is the teacher and the children of Israel are the students. The wilderness east of the Jordan River is their classroom. And there they assemble to review God’s expectation of them before conquering the Promised Land.
I begin this post with a little self-disclosure: I don’t know how to run! What do I mean? Let’s just say, if you saw me running, you would understand perfectly well what I mean. To be specific, I was never taught (or perhaps I failed to learn) how to properly bend my knees when running. The result is a stride that slightly resembles a duck.
