Genesis 43-45, Matthew 12:24-50 • Key Verse: Genesis 45:5 Joseph’s life had its shares of downs. His brothers were jealous of him, almost killed him, sold him into slavery and lied to his father about what happened to him. As a result, Joseph lived as a slave, was falsely accused...

Genesis 41-42, Matthew 12:1-23 • Key Verses: Genesis 41:51-52 “Deal with it!” is a phrase often heard today. Sometimes it is accompanied with the encouragement to “get over it.” These phrases can be like a form of shock counseling. Hit over the head with a blunt piece of advice, a...

Genesis 39-40, Matthew 11 Key Verse: Genesis 39:23 After a sequence of individuals with character flaws, the narrative now turns to a man about whom nothing negative is recorded. Joseph truly lived a life of righteousness and integrity. He did it with his mind focused on God and not his...

Genesis 36-38, Matthew 10:21-42 • Key Verse: Genesis 38:26a The character of Judah was such that he could say about his daughter-in-law, “She is more righteous than I.” How painful it must have felt to acknowledge that fact, especially considering Judah said that when he realized she was the “prostitute”...

Genesis 33-35, Matthew 10:1-20 • Key Verse: Genesis 35:3 There are times when we see the past in the future. We may sing, “The sun’ll come out tomorrow,” but tomorrow may have clouds of our own making. God wrestled with Jacob to make him the man He wanted him to...

Genesis 31-32, Matthew 9:18-38 • Key Verses: Genesis 32:9-10 A veteran missionary once wrote that he would rather be like Jacob than Solomon. In his assessment, Solomon started so promisingly but ended disastrously, while Jacob started disastrously but ended well. In these chapters Jacobs turn begins to be evident. A...

Genesis 29—30, Matthew 9:1—17 • Key Verse: Genesis 29:25 Two men got what they wanted, but both got it the wrong way. Jacob wanted his father’s blessing. In yesterday’s reading we saw how he deceived Isaac to get the blessing. Laban wanted his older daughter wed. By deception he got...

Genesis 27-28, Matthew 8:18-34 • Key Verses: Genesis 28:15-16 Jacob knew what he wanted: his father’s blessing. After all, it was Gods promise for his life. It was not a question of what he wanted but of how he got it. Already Esau had surrendered his birthright (25:33). Then Jacob...

Genesis 25-26, Matthew 8:1-17 • Key Verse: Genesis 26:24 Woven in these two chapters are both belief and disbelief. Isaac believed enough to pray and to stay. He prayed when he and Rebekah were having difficulty conceiving. God answered that prayer with twins. He also stayed in Gerar when God...

Genesis 23—24, Matthew 7 • Key Verses: Genesis 24:26-27 With growing older comes change. In today’s reading, Abraham experienced the loss of his wife and the addition of a daughter-in-law. In these two events he trusted and obeyed God. When Sarah died, Abraham demonstrated his faith in a remarkable way....