Tag Bible

A Scurry of Ebenezers

Todd R 1 Comment

What is an Ebenezer?  In the Old Testament, an Ebenezer was a “stone of help,” a kind of monument to times God helped His people.  These markers were a reminder of God’s faithfulness, providing strength for the present and future.  Sometimes in the Bible, these moments where God intervenes are noted by the phrase “but God” followed by a change in the direction of the story.

Ebenezer (pictured) is also a squirrel, and this blog’s mascot.  He represents these “but God” memorials in the Bible.  As a squirrel suddenly and unexpectedly draws our attention, Ebenezers draw our attention to reminders of God’s influence on history and our lives.  If so, a “scurry” of squirrels, as a group of them is called, should get our attention even more!  In the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, Ebenezer (“but God”) appears multiple times:

  • Genesis 45:8 – “So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
  • Genesis 48:21 – “Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.”
  • Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
  • Gen. 50:24 “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’”

The story of Joseph is long and complicated but is really a story of extreme sibling rivalry and jealousy being turned by God into a story of salvation for all of God’s family.  God intervened in many ways.

Joseph was favored by his father over his brothers, and when he shared his dreams that his family would one day bow down to him, his brothers despised him more and sold him into slavery in Egypt.  Joseph’s brothers directly were responsible this, “but God” accomplished much for Joseph in Egypt, according to Genesis 45:8.  The result of one “but God” is that Joseph had risen to a position of great power.

In addition, Joseph’s brothers hated him enough to not only sell him into slavery, but they also lied to their father, saying Joseph had been killed by wild animals.  “But God” not only used these evil intentions and acts to raise up Joseph, but through Joseph God also “meant it for good,” as Genesis 50:20 says, keeping many people alive.  Joseph had been placed in charge of the distribution of food in Egypt during a long famine.  When Joseph’s brothers came from Canaan to buy food, Joseph concealed his identity and tested them, but eventually revealed himself and gave them a new home in Egypt, providing food and a livelihood for them for years.  God made something great out of the evil of Joseph’s brothers.

There are more bad events in Joseph’s life that God overcame, without a direct “but God” reference.  Joseph had been wrongly accused of attempted rape by the wife of his earlier Egyptian employer, Potiphar.  While spending time in prison on this charge, Joseph also suffered an extended sentence because the cupbearer, who promised to advocate for Joseph to Pharaoh, forgot about him for 2 years.  All of these things Joseph overcame, with God intervening all along the way.

One last example.  Joseph also prophesied another “but God” in the future, in Genesis 50:24.  While Egypt initially welcomed Israel with open arms, giving them land in a choice area of Egypt, as the nation of Israel grew, they were eventually bound in slavery when a Pharaoh saw their size as a threat.  Joseph knew Israel would be delivered from this slavery, and “God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”  The people would return to Canaan.

What does this mean for us?  That God is always intervening in our lives in more ways than we know, or probably could even comprehend.  Sometimes our lives can seem out of control and overwhelming, “but God” intervenes in our past, present, and future.

Every moment, we are surrounded by a scurry of Ebenezers, including many we are not aware of.

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper

Bible in a Year: Week of February 19 – February 25

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!

This week, we’re 1/3 of the way through Psalms’ 150 chapters and done with Genesis, so on to Exodus.  If you’re wondering when we get to the New Testament, the answer is “not for a while.”  The New Testament has 260 chapters, while the Old has 929, but when we get to the New Testament it will be in focus for the rest of the year.

Monday, February 19
Morning: Psalm 50, 1 Kings 9
Evening: Genesis 50

Tuesday, February 20
Morning: Psalm 51, 1 Kings 10
Evening: Exodus 1

Wednesday, February 21
Morning: Psalm 52, 1 Kings 11
Evening: Exodus 2

Thursday, February 22
Morning: Psalm 53, 1 Kings 12
Evening: Exodus 3

Friday, February 23
Morning: Psalm 54, 1 Kings 13
Evening: Exodus 4

Saturday, February 24
Morning: Psalm 55, 1 Kings 14-15
Evening: Exodus 5

Sunday, February 25
Morning: Psalm 56, 1 Kings 16-17
Evening: Exodus 6

The Scale of Our Trials

Todd R Leave a comment

The apostle Paul begins 2 Corinthians with the usual greeting, followed by a section on the comfort God provides us when we suffer or are afflicted for Christ’s sake.  2 Corinthians 1:5 makes this statement: “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

On that verse, Charles Spurgeon wrote this analogy: “The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales—in this side He puts His people’s trials, and in that He puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy.”[1]

Therefore, when living for Christ brings trouble and opposition, remember also that our Father is ruler of all and fully intends to share His comfort with us through Christ eternally.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” – Romans 8:18

[1] From “February 12” of Spurgeon’s Morning by Morning commentary

Wisdom for the Task

Todd R 1 Comment

What are the most challenging parts of your life?  Maybe your job has been difficult recently.  Maybe you have a ministry that has been exhausting or frustrating.  There may be difficult people or relationships in your life.  It could be anything, but we all have difficult tasks at times.

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

King Solomon was given a very difficult task by God, to govern His people Israel as their king.  Solomon knew this job was too big for him, saying in 1 Kings 3:7-8, “O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.  And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.”

Solomon’s response was not to despair or give up, but to rely on God, in verse 9 asking him to “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”  God answered Solomon’s prayer and gave him wisdom that made him world-famous.  The wisdom that only comes from God.

But this wisdom isn’t just for kingly or other grand duties.  Just as Solomon did, we can all pray for God to give us wisdom to manage our lives better – those hard jobs, difficult relationships, challenging ministries, and other things.  God doesn’t always solve our problems or remove our difficulties, but He does want to help us live wisely in the midst of them.  If He has given us things to manage, He will also give us the resources to manage them, including wisdom.

Therefore, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”  (James 1:5)

The Last Enemy is Death

Todd R 1 Comment

In life there are many difficult questions, and two of the hardest are also common objections to Christianity: 1) Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and 2) Why do bad things happen to good people?

However, the Bible does not leave Christians without hope in the face of these questions.

First, part of what God is doing about the evil in this world is the fact that everyone dies.  The Bible teaches that every bad thing in this world is a result of sin – people deviating from God’s purposes – and that because of that sin the world is cursed[1].  Not only do people hurt each other, but the creation itself, including human nature, is not in its ideal state.

Death was not originally part of this world, but came in to the world as a result of sin and is a constant reminder of it.  In Genesis chapter 5, there is a genealogy from Adam to Noah.  The phrase “and he died” is repeated over and over again and is a reminder that this world is not perfect.  God created a consequence for the sin of mankind: death.  While the Bible doesn’t explain why there was a snake in the garden or why Adam and Eve sinned, it does describe what God is doing about it.  When we ask why bad things happen, we acknowledge that bad things exist, that they shouldn’t exist, and that they can happen to anyone.  God isn’t doing nothing about the evil in the world – we all die and that is part of the judgment.

So, the two objections to Christianity (Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and why do bad things happen to good people?) end up being contradictory because part of what God does about the evil in this world is that bad things (death) happen to everyone.

However, the Bible teaches that there are two deaths: a physical death and a spiritual death.  In the first, our soul is separated from our body and our body dies.  In the second, our soul is separated from God eternally and our soul dies but exists forever away from God’s presence and blessings.  A second thing that God is doing about the evil in this world is that the first death is universal, but the second death is not.

Fortunately, judgement and death aren’t the only things God is doing about sin.  What does this mean?  Note the second half of God’s curse on the serpent from Genesis 3:15 –

“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
            and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
            and you shall bruise his heel.”

Who is being bruised here?  In the last phrase, Satan is injuring Christ through the crucifixion, but it’s described as a wound to the heel because it is not fatal.  Jesus was raised to life eternal.  On the other hand, Christ shall bruise the head of Satan – a fatal blow that he will never recover from.  This was determined from the beginning.

While judgement comes to all in physical death as a result of sin, through Christ there is a way out from spiritual, eternal death.  Jesus has paid the price for our sin and has conquered eternal, spiritual death as a result.

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26

Praise God!

[1] See Genesis 3:19 and 3:22