How Your Promised Land Turned to Forbidden Sands (and how to get back again)
God cherishes relationship with his creation. So, He designed a forever partnership with humanity called covenant. This is just one of many themes you can find in a single chapter in Genesis!
The other night, I woke up to the silhouette of my wife in the sliding glass door of our bedroom. It was about 2 a.m., and I could barely make out the words, “What are you doing?”
Her response was chilling, “They’re back.”
Let me give you a little context. Outside that bedroom door is a small deck almost three stories above the ground with multiple birdfeeders. As you may know, birdfeeders attract more than just birds. We seem to be constantly fighting off squirrels who love a free meal.
More irritating than the squirrels, though, are the raccoons. Don’t be fooled by the cute little masks. Raccoons are a pain in the butt, and nothing seems to keep them from their goals. When they discover food in our birdfeeders, the raccoons climb our downspout and scamper over to our deck. Within a few nights, a full birdfeeder will be completely empty.
Clever little devils.
That night, when I woke up, and Kia told me “they” were back, I knew exactly who “they” were. Dang raccoons!
As can only happen when waking from a deep sleep, I slipped back into slumber and woke again to see Kia in the same place and pose. Again, I croaked out, “What are you doing?” The response was a whispered, “They can see me.”
Classic.
Finally, whether it was 2 minutes or 20 minutes later, I don’t know; I woke up to the sound of the door flying open and Kia yelling and shooting a BB gun at the raccoons.
Partners
As I processed this event a few days later, I realized how much I love partnering with Kia. Nearly 30 years ago (29 years in August), we entered into a partnership to walk through life together in good, bad, and BB gun-toting moments. We partner against raccoons (it has been me other nights attempting to sneak up on little, furry thieves). More importantly, we've worked together to raise four kids, create a home, and enter into multiple businesses.
Our partnership has a biblical term — covenant. We are in covenant together as husband and wife. It is meant to mirror the partnership that God has entered into with humanity at different times in history.
This partnership or covenant is one of the many themes in Genesis 12. I shared it in May and then preached about it over two weeks this month. Quite a few of you joined this newsletter after hearing one of those sermons to learn more about these themes. Others have followed along for a while, but you live too far to join me for a Sunday morning service.
This post is designed to help both dive deeper into these themes and symbols. Below is a brief recap and link to a post about each theme in Genesis 12 and the sermons I preached, expanding on two themes.
Covenant
The Bible may have the most important theme of all: covenant. There are five major covenants in the Old Testament, and the one in Genesis 12 might be the most important.
A covenant (or partnership) with God has three important aspects: a promise, eternality, and identity.
Word is Bond
For the past several months, Kia and I have hosted a group of young adults (18-24) for a small group Bible study. We start each session with a meal, then break for a short Bible study, and finally finish with dessert and fellowship. Over the course of these months, we’ve studied books of the Bible (we read through the book of Galatians), gone through a …
Trees
On the third day of creation, God created trees, plants, and flowers. On the sixth day of creation, God created humanity. Without going into all the details, these two events are linked together. This means humanity and trees are often linked together in the Bible. The appearance of a tree is meant to signal to the reader to expect a blessing or curse to fall on the humanity around the tree.
Thankfully, we are blessed because of the curse Jesus took on the cross (a tree). We are blessed with eternal life in a new heaven and earth, and we are blessed today!
Trees of Life Planted in the Land of the Living
There is a tension we must walk with as we journey through life as followers of Jesus. On the one hand, this earth is not our home, so we hope for a future new heaven and new earth. On the other hand, we aren’t there yet, so God expects us to fulfill his earliest command to steward what we have been given today. I’m reminded of this dichotomy when readi…
Egypt
Provision and trust are two consistent tests God puts before us. In the Bible, Egypt symbolizes this test. It’s exactly what Abraham faces almost immediately after God blesses him with unbelievable promises.
What’s difficult about choosing an alternative source of provision is we are often fooled into thinking it is the best and safest option (even after choosing it). Don’t be fooled.
Themes in Scripture: Egypt
In the ninth grade, I was introduced to Shakespeare. Until then, I was terrified to attempt to read this 16th-century playwright. I was scared until I began to read the play for myself. One of the reasons I was so intrigued by his writing was being introduced to symbolism. I still remember the paper I wrote about the importance of the moon in Romeo and …
Men + Women
If you follow “church” news, there is much chatter today about women's roles within the home, church, and society. The conversation is needed but not necessarily new. Pitting men against women and working to rule over one another is as old as sin. In fact, it is one of the major consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden.
What was God’s plan before sin crashed the world as God designed it?
The Depth of Scripture: Men vs Women
Every summer, our family goes to the Branson, Missouri, area for a reunion with Kia’s family. Along with the usual shenanigans with brothers, sisters, and cousins, there is a fair amount of boating on Table Rock Lake. As the children age, this includes a stop at one of the various cliff-jumping locations. These jumps never seem like much from the lake, …
See + Take
In the Garden, Eve saw the fruit, took it, and gave it to Adam (who was with Eve). This pattern repeats repeatedly in the Bible. It happens in Genesis 12 when Pharaoh sees Sarah and takes her (and then gives gifts to Abraham). Because of God’s covenant with Abraham, he rescued Sarah from this curse.
This same pattern also tempts us. Thankfully, Jesus breaks this pattern, showing us that we can break it, too.
See + Take
This newsletter is and always will be a labor of love. However, it is labor. I would be honored if you would consider doing one of two things: become a paid subscriber or share this with your friends. Both are a huge show of support. Thanks!
New Series Next Month!
Beginning next week, I’ll start a new series on encouraging spiritual growth in your life. As preparation, you can read this Substack Newsletter from Ryan Huguley for his thoughts. I’ll be covering these four topics:
Intentional—When we want something, we must intentionally make it happen. Even when success feels organic and spontaneous, if we are honest with ourselves, we will see intentional acts that have led to that achievement.
Community—we are not meant to grow alone, but too often, this is our answer to moments of hurt or frustration. God designed us to live and grow in a community.
Bible Reading—Scripture is the Word of God and the bread of life. It sustains us.
Prayer—Communication with God looks different for everyone. Sometimes, it is deep intercession, but other times, it is short, consistent chatter with our Maker.
Finally, since you’ve been kind and interested enough to read to the end of this newsletter, if you would like to support my writing, do it for a little less than normal. Many thanks to everyone who has supported me, including Denise, Dave, and Lloyd!
This is so well done! You pulled an eternal theme right down to where you/we live. Excellent. You serve your readers well.