Category Archives: Genesis

Canteen Faith

Posted by on May 17, 2011 No comments

As Hagar journeys through the desert she runs out of water. She places her son under a bush and then walks away so she does not have to watch him die. (Genesis 2:15-19)

By her actions it is obvious that Hagar’s faith in God’s protection went as far as the water in her canteen. The moment the water ran out, so did Hagar’s faith. So at this point she does the next logical step — she prepares for death. Her faith exhausted, this is the only future she can see.

But as she sits there in the desert God opens her eyes and she sees a well of water. Did this well just suddenly appear? No. It was there all the time but she could not see it. She can see the bush to lay her son under where he will die. She can see a place for her to sit down so she will not have to watch her son die. But she can not see the well that is present the entire time.

There are times in our lives when the water in our canteen runs out and with this our faith. At these moments we would argue with God that He is not present. But God is present. We do not see him because our faith is misplaced. With faith in the water in the canteen, when the water runs out, so does our faith. But this does not prove God is not present. It proves our faith was in the water and not in the Living God.

When we place our faith in the material our vision is limited to this material. When this material runs out so does our faith. And when faith runs out it will threaten to kill us and those around us.

May we have the vision to take our eyes off the water in the canteen, we hold in our hand, that is limited, so we can see the water in the well, beyond our grasp, that is unlimited. And may we not have faith in the water in our canteen, nor the water in the well. But may we have faith in the One True Living God who gives both the canteen and the well to his children.

© 2011, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

Share

Custom Dysfunction – Laban’s Treachery – Genesis 29:26

Posted by on April 16, 2010 No comments

"But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn." (Genesis 29:26)

This is an interesting justification. Laban uses the custom of marrying the first born as the reason for his deception. But think about it, could he not have made this clear to Jacob seven years prior. Perhaps Laban was hoping that Leah would be married by that time. In any event, after Jacob completed his part of the agreement, Laban tricked him and then used the local custom as justification for breaking his word.

Some attempt to justify Laban's actions by pointing to Jacob's trickery to gain the birth right blessing. But Jacob's bad behavior does not justify Laban's bad behavior.

The real tragedy of this story is not the trickery to Jacob but what it does to Leah. If Jacob is so taken with Rachel that he will work seven years for the right to marry her, then Laban should know that this love is powerful and enduring. For Leah to be cast into this mix by lies, deceit and trickery will only make her life more difficult.

So let's be honest. Laban's actions reveal it is not really about what's best for Leah, it all about Laban. Laban wants to be able to keep his status in his community. He wants to be able to say, "I married Leah before Rachel" even if this creates a dysfunctional climate for Leah.

The greater lesson here is we are all Laban. We have all done this. We have all taken the easy road and then justified it by pointing to a custom or by pointing to the actions of other's to justify our lack of character and courage. Pointing to a custom can never justify an unethical act – for Laban or for us.

When we act in this way we never take into account the truly destructive nature of our decisions.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

Share

© 2008-2012 VoiceWind All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright