General

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10)

This verse is a promise and a prophecy. The book of Genesis is full of promises, promises from God. The first promise is in Genesis 3:15, which speaks of the coming conflict between Christ and Satan. Genesis 49:10 is an eschatological promise. It simply says that a descendant of Judah will rule forever and all nations will submit to him. The scepter and ruler’s staff speak of the reign of this future king.

When our Lord Jesus began his public ministry, it was with these words of announcement: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). Jesus did not define what he meant by the “kingdom of God.” The implication is that he assumed the teaching of the Old Testament regarding God’s kingdom. It also implies that those who listened to our Lord were familiar with the kingdom. The phrase “kingdom of God” does not appear in the Old Testament, yet the idea pervades all the Scriptures. We know that God is the King of the universe and of Israel (Ex. 15:18; Ps. 96:10; 97:1; 145:11–13).

The rule of God is a sovereign rule over men. It is extensive, covering their entire existence. It is a rule that requires unquestioned obedience and submission. This is what our verse proposes. Ultimately, Jacob speaks of Messiah’s rule. Kings will come from the tribe of Judah, such as David. Old Testament eschatology can be reduced to some simple statements. [Read more…] about To Him Shall Be The Obedience Of The Peoples

“They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.” (Genesis 43:32)

This verse is set in the context of Joseph sitting down to a meal with his brothers in Egypt. They have come to buy food and Joseph has been testing his brothers to see what kind of hearts they have. On this return trip the brothers have brought Benjamin with them. This is Joseph’s full brother. Their mother is Rachel. Joseph has one final test for the brothers and it involves Benjamin (see Gen. 44). The brothers will pass the test since Judah is willing to substitute himself for Benjamin (Gen. 44:14-34). Judah had already placed his life on the line before Jacob (as surety for Benjamin) so that they could return to Egypt with Benjamin, for that was what Joseph had commanded (Gen. 42:16; 43:8, 9). At this meal in Genesis 43 a separation takes place. Verse 32 says that Joseph sat by himself and was served. The brothers sat by themselves (each according to his birth order) and were served, and the Egyptians sat by themselves and ate. The reason for this separation was that it was an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews. [Read more…] about An Abomination To The Egyptians

Genesis 32:22 – 32

In this passage we have the great confrontation between Jacob and God. Jacob has left his father-in-law, Laban’s home and is now making his way back to the land of his fathers. He arrived in Mesopotamia with nothing (Gen. 28:1 – 5; 32:10) having left hurriedly due to his brother Esau’s rage at being cheated out of the blessing (Gen. 27:18 – 29, 41). He has now left Mesopotamia a very rich man, having a large family of two wives, their maid-servants and his children, besides his extensive flocks, camels and donkeys (Gen. 32:5, 13 – 15). Jacob has left because God instructed him to return to his father Isaac’s land (Gen. 31:3), the land God originally promised to Abraham, his grandfather.

For twenty years he has suffered deprivation at the hand of Laban, his wages had been changed ten times (Gen. 31:38 – 42). The threat of Laban behind him is overcome by the end of Genesis 31, but now Jacob realizes the awful fact that ahead of him is Esau, the brother he deceived and wronged twice (by stealing the birthright and the blessing). We know that God would have ensured that Jacob receive both of these without the interference of Rebekah and Jacob. [Read more…] about Dependence Upon God

“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”  (Genesis 11:4)

Here in Genesis 11, the ambition of man soars to new heights (literally). You would have thought that humanity would have learned its lesson from the destructive flood of Gen. 7:11 – 8:13. God destroyed humanity universally saving only Noah and his family, precisely because man’s every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen. 6:5). We know the answer to this. It is the sin of man. We are all born in sin. We are sinners by nature. It is what we do naturally. We sin because we are sinners. There is no sin that is acceptable to God. All sin merits punishment and God has decreed such punishment. God is never unjust. He is perfectly just. He deals with sin justly. We should not be surprised by the Flood of Noah.

We should not be surprised to find that God punishes nations for their sins. Israel and Judah are prime examples of that. God sent each of them into captivity (Israel in 722 BC under the Assyrians and Judah in 586 BC under the Babylonians). God also punished the Assyrians and the Babylonians for their sin. We must not be surprised that our own country is declining. It is declining because all nations decline. [Read more…] about Let Us Make A Name For Ourselves

“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.” (Genesis 3:15)

This verse is generally recognized as the proto evangelium (first gospel). It is a promise by God that someday Satan will be crushed. It comprises a cursing and promise. The cursing is enmity and the promise is bruising. The concepts of promise and cursing are related to the idea of covenant. Christians should not be confused by or afraid to think in covenantal terms. It is biblical to think in such a way. Yet most Christians seem unable to define what a covenant means in Scripture.

The Bible indicates over and over again that God has entered into covenant relationships with people. God made a covenant with Noah (Gen. 6:18), with Abraham (Gen. 15:18), with Israel (Ex. 24:8), and with David (Ps. 89:3). Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34). Our Lord expressed himself at the last supper in covenant language (Luke 22:20). O. Palmer Robertson defines a covenant as “a bond in blood sovereignly administered” (The Christ of the Covenants, p. 4). He means a life and death relationship. When God enters into a covenant, it has to do with life and death. A covenant is all about relationship—between God and man. To break a covenant with God is to disregard with impunity what God has deemed sacred or inviolable. We speak of marriage in this way because God has defined marriage as between one man and one woman without any divorce (Gen. 2:24; Mark 10:6–9). Marriage is defined by God as binding because it is God who does the joining. This covenant idea in marriage today is disregarded, not only by unbelievers, but also by believers. Marriage is thus viewed by God in terms of life and death. It is death only that breaks a marriage (Rom. 7:2, 3; 1 Cor. 7:10, 11, 27, 39). [Read more…] about You Shall Bruise His Heel…He Shall Bruise Your Head

“…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)

There is a matchless wonder and beauty in the first two chapters of Genesis. The glorious powerful creation of God is manifestly displayed with the creation of man as the height and pinnacle of that creation. The focus on God as Creator cannot and must not be missed. But in Genesis 2:17 God introduces a negative, a prohibition. It is a warning with dire consequences. Those consequences are “you shall surely die.” 

I do not know if Adam truly grasped what that meant. The deception of Eve and the willingness by Adam to eat and thus disobey God suggest that they had not really probed or fully understood the ramifications of disobedience. This is true, of course, of all of us. It is simply a manifestation of unbelief. We just do not believe God. Sin always is painted as so attractive and beautiful in temptation that we are blinded to the ugliness and darkness and death inherent in it.

You would think that since we are on this side of the Fall we might know ourselves, but the reverse is true. We do not know ourselves. The only way we can know ourselves is through divine intervention. [Read more…] about In The Day That You Eat…You Shall Surely Die