What We Do After We Pray Matters We know that we should present our concerns to God. Paul writes that we shouldn’t worry about anything. Instead, we should pray about everything (Philippians 4:6-7). But praying is just the first part. We must do our part too. We must pray and act accordingly. When we in […]
Leah, like her younger sister, Rachel, is an interesting character. While I’m inexplicitly drawn to Rachel, I just feel sorry for Leah. She marries her first cousin, Jacob. The problem is Jacob loves her younger sister Rachel. While Rachel is attractive, Leah is not. Though we don’t understand the details, we do know she doesn’t […]
Why Having Two Wives Is a Bad Idea Peninnah is a co-wife with Hannah. They’re both married to Elkanah. Reminiscent of Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah, we have the story of Elkanah and his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Just as Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, Elkanah loves Hannah more than […]
Consider What Scripture Says about the Unborn Some say life begins at birth. Others point to conception. Yet too many look at the continuum of pregnancy and try to determine a point along that path where not-life becomes life. But this looms as a never-ending quest with an ever-moving answer. What does the Bible say […]
Don’t Hold on to Guilt Over What God Has Already Forgiven From the life of Jacob, we learn a lesson in how to receive God’s mercy. After Jacob dies, Joseph’s brothers come to him. They’re worried he’ll hold a grudge against them for what they did to him when he was a teenager. At that […]
Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and Leah, is the central character of Genesis 34. Though we know what happened to her and because of her, we know nothing about what she said, did, or thought. Her story begins tragically. She is raped by Shechem. Yet after his act of lust, he falls in love with […]
Rachel is an interesting character. She’s the wife of Jacob and also his first cousin. Talk about ick! We read about her in Genesis 29-31 & 35. For some reason, I’m drawn to her, but I don’t know why. We know she’s beautiful. For Jacob, it’s love at first sight. But there’s calamity when her […]
In the book of Genesis, God gives a new name to three people. In doing so, God is effectively saying, I’m giving you a new identity. You may see yourself according to what your parents called you at birth, but I see you differently. I’m giving you a new name and a new future. The […]
God Instructs Jacob to Go to Egypt, but He Doesn’t Intend for Him to Stay Just like Cain and Abel, along with Ishmael and Isaac, Joseph and his brothers have problems, too. There are two reasons why Joseph’s brothers don’t like him. First, he’s Dad’s favorite. Second, he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth […]
Just as we know that Jesus had twelve disciples, we know that Israel had twelve tribes, right? Jacob (also known as Israel) had twelve sons and each son became a tribe, right? Well sort of. Even though Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, there is no tribe named Joseph. Instead Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, […]