Tag: Genesis

Readers’ Choice is here: Over two-thirds of our devotionals get emailed responses from readers like you. Hearing that what we have written is meaningful to you is meaningful to us. That’s why we love sharing some of your comments and messages. Thank you, readers. We do what we do to serve you. There’s still time to tell us about your favorite, most meaningful posts of the year. If you shared it with someone, or it helped you, let us know via email, direct message, or by filling out the linked form.

Links for today’s readings:

Oct 13  Read: 1 Kings 16 Listen: (5:31)  Read: Psalms 36 Listen: (1:29)

Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:

Michelle, NY — This is an excellent devotional on Genesis 1 & 2. Many people struggle with the two chapters and this so-called “mismatches”. I love the way you put context to both to show the harmony between them. God will never mislead us in His word!

This post was originally published on January 2, 2025, based on readings from Genesis 2.7-8.

Scripture Focus: Genesis 2.7-8

7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Reflection: Cosmic and Earthly Creations — Readers’ Choice

By John Tillman

The creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 sound different.

Genesis 1 is cosmic, ordered, rhythmic poetry. The Spirit hovers. The Word speaks. Photons, matter, and life forms burst into being ex nihilo, “out of nothing.” Day and night separate each act from the next in a chain of images, like framed paintings on a museum gallery’s wall, or colored panes in a stained glass window.

Genesis 2 is earthy, messy, intimate prose. The actions of creation are less ordered and formal. The Creator kneels in a grassless, soggy plain forming a human from the wet earth. He puts his mouth on the muddy shape and breathes into it, then wipes mud from his lips as Adam takes his first breath. God, the gardener, keeps digging in the dirt. He plants and cultivates trees that provide beauty and health, cuts rivers that supply water to distant lands, forms other living creatures out of the ground, and a co-laborer for Adam from his own flesh.

These two versions aren’t arguing with each other. The writers of scripture weren’t confused or ignorant. They didn’t forget what they just wrote. When you lay these two stories over each other, they fill in each other’s gaps.

Whether you need to be reminded of how grand, glorious, and powerful God is or how near, intimate, and tender he is, Genesis has you covered.

Our creator is both cosmic and earthy. He blows galaxies across the universe and he breathes into our lungs. He speaks to photons and whispers in our ears. He scatters stars in the sky and sows seeds in the dirt—and seeds in our hearts.

From its first pages, the Bible reminds us that the glorious God of Heaven muddied his knees and hands at our making. The God who created calculus and physics also created our emotions and feelings. We are also both cosmic and earthy creations. We need his cultivation.

In this new year, how is your garden? Do you need irrigation for dry soil? Do you need to diagnose diseased plants? Do you need to stop pests from nibbling your fruit? Or do you need to plow it all under and start ex nihilo? Let our garden-planting God guide you.

As we walk through the scripture with him, God will never stop cultivating our muddy, messy lives into the garden he always designed us to live in.

Image Note: The image used in today’s post is of the Butterfly Nebulae, located in the constellation of Scorpius.

The Lord’s Prayer:

We will take a break from The Divine Hours prayers for the month of October and instead pray Dallas Willard’s paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer:

Dear Father, always near us, may your name be treasured and loved, may your rule be completed in us—may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven.

Give us today the things we need today, and forgive us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.

Please don’t put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad. Because you are the one in charge, and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-which is just the way we want it!

Readers’ Choice is here!

#ReadersChoice is time for you to share favorite Park Forum posts from the year.

What post did you share with a friend?

https://forms.gle/aSD7X5psHqjSMtBFA

Read more: God In the Dark

God still says “let there be light” and causes the Morningstar to rise in our hearts.

God In the Dark — Hope of Advent

Readers’ Choice is here: Over two-thirds of our devotionals get emailed responses from readers like you. Hearing that what we have written is meaningful to you is meaningful to us. That’s why we love sharing some of your comments and messages. Thank you, readers. We do what we do to serve you. There’s still time to tell us about your favorite, most meaningful posts of the year. If you shared it with someone, or it helped you, let us know via email, direct message, or by filling out the linked form.

Links for today’s readings:

Oct 8  Read: 1 Kings 11 Listen: (7:05)  Read: Psalms 31 Listen: (3:11)

Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:

Brian, DC — I have learned so much from the dear saints who, when we first met, were alcoholics, homeless, crack addicts, prostitutes, and felons. These friends are the most honest, aware, and wise women and men I know. God IS the one who hears the voices of those on the margins.”
Barbara, TN — Thank you, Erin! Such a good take!
Jon, TX — Preach!

This post was originally published on January 15, 2025, based on readings from Genesis 16:6-7, 13.

Scripture Focus: Genesis 16:6-7, 13

6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Reflection: Her Voice from the Margins — Readers’ Choice

By Erin Newton

“As a symbol of the oppressed, Hagar becomes many things to many people” (Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror).

We are accustomed to comparing the two sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. Even in the ordering of the names, we place the younger, chosen son before the eldest. There is an instinctual (or likely a learned) way of viewing Isaac positively and Ishmael negatively. Perhaps the mind wants to conclude: If Ishmael is not chosen by God, he is rejected by me.

Similar thoughts are carried on to their mothers: Sarah and Hagar. Sarah at the beginning is the sole wife to Abraham. It is the promise given to her that the grand ancestry of God’s people would be rooted. But she laughed, she doubted, she schemed.

There are many stories in the Bible that can, if we are still listening, furrow our brows in concern. At first we are reading with a smile watching God choose and bless this family, but then the frailty of humanity sneaks in and begins to warp the goodness. If we are too calloused to see it anymore, we might be tempted to shrug off this really bad idea as something that “works out in the end.”

Works out? For whom?

We have a rare glimpse into the aftermath of Sarah and Abraham’s scheme. We watch Hagar flee into the wilderness for solace. It is there that God comes to meet her. And for the first time, a character in the story calls her by name.

This is why Hagar means so much to so many—God knew her even when people abused her.

Phyllis Trible noted how Hagar represents the marginalized in our day: “She is the faithful maid exploited, the black woman used by the male and abused by the female of the ruling class, the surrogate mother, the resident alien without legal recourse, the other woman, the runaway youth, the religious fleeing from affliction, the pregnant young woman alone, the expelled wife, the divorced mother with child, the shopping bag lady carrying bread and water, the homeless woman, the indigent relying upon handouts from the power structures, the welfare mother, the self-effacing female whose own identity shrinks in service to others” (Texts of Terror).

Hagar reminds us of the importance of letting the marginalized speak. It is Hagar who names God, the One Who Sees. There is no monopoly of knowing God. Let us listen.

The Lord’s Prayer:

We will take a break from The Divine Hours prayers for the month of October and instead pray Dallas Willard’s paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer:

Dear Father, always near us, may your name be treasured and loved, may your rule be completed in us—may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven.

Give us today the things we need today, and forgive us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.

Please don’t put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad. Because you are the one in charge, and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-which is just the way we want it!

Readers’ Choice is here!

#ReadersChoice is time for you to share favorite Park Forum posts from the year.

What post helped you endure suffering?

https://forms.gle/aSD7X5psHqjSMtBFA

Read more: Prayer for Outcasts

We pray, today, for those who flee. Aid their flight.
May they avoid danger, escaping the fowler’s snare.
May they find fair winds, lifting their wings and spirits.

Prayer for Outcasts — Guided Prayer

Readers’ Choice is here: Over two-thirds of our devotionals get emailed responses from readers like you. Hearing that what we have written is meaningful to you is meaningful to us. That’s why we love sharing some of your comments and messages. Thank you, readers. We do what we do to serve you. There’s still time to tell us about your favorite, most meaningful posts of the year. If you shared it with someone, or it helped you, let us know via email, direct message, or by filling out the linked form.

Links for today’s readings:

Oct 2 Read: 1 Kings 4-5 Listen: (7:21) Read: Psalms 22 Listen: (3:49)

Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:

Dave, TN — Thank you! He never leaves us. He is faithful.

Brian, DC — Many in my extended family can identify with this reflection. Some were never known or seen outside the family. Others were late bloomers whose gifts impacted people across the world. My brother and I think about these things a lot.

Barbara, TN — Hallelujah! Thank you for the explanation of the feelings that come with ups and downs! It is the downs in hindsight that leave me with more assurance of his care and presence!

This post was originally published on February 2, 2025, based on readings from Genesis 40.7-8, 23.

Scripture Focus: Genesis 40.7-8, 23

7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” 8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Reflection: Dream On — Readers’ Choice

By John Tillman

From favorite to outcast. From a son treated like a prince to a slave treated like a criminal. From dream teller to dream interpreter.

The ups and downs of Joseph’s life sound exciting in a story but would be awful to live through.

Joseph was rejected, abused, and nearly killed for his dreams. After his brothers’ attack, the muck of the cistern, the shame of enslavement, the shock of sexual abuse, the scandal of false accusation and being imprisoned for something he did not do, he must have been questioning his and his family’s interpretation of his dreams.

Instead of the Sun, Moon, and stars bowing to him, Joseph is imprisoned. Instead of being the dreamer, he hears others’ dreams. Instead of sharing dreams that make others jealous, he hears others’ dreams and wishes for a similar outcome.

I’ve often wondered if interpreting the dreams of the prisoners was a flash of hope for Joseph or a mark of despair.

Was it exciting to use his skills? Or, was it a painful reminder of his apparent failure? Did it boost confidence that God would fulfill his dreams? Or did he wonder why these men’s dreams should be fulfilled within days while he waited years? Did he see them as encouragement from God? Or did he wonder why a pagan cupbearer’s dream should come true, when his dream, given by the one true God, seemed denied?

The repetition in the last verse of this chapter, I think, hints at Joseph’s mood. “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” (Genesis 40.23) Repeatedly, Joseph’s hopes were dashed and his dreams crashed.

Do you feel unremembered? Forgotten? Have you been in a downward spiral away from the dreams you thought God had for you? Have you gotten cast into cisterns, mired in mud, mistreated, or thrown in a prison of doubt?

Joseph’s journey is a picture for us of the path of Jesus, our suffering savior. As we follow Jesus, we will walk this path too.

Joseph was not forgotten in prison. Jesus was not abandoned in the grave. Certainly we are not forgotten or abandoned when the ups of our lives turn to downs.

Let us remain faithful in the downs and humble in the ups. Not every dream is of God, but every dream from God will come true. All God’s promises are “yes,” in Jesus.

Dream on.

The Lord’s Prayer:

We will take a break from The Divine Hours prayers for the month of October and instead pray Dallas Willard’s paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer:

Dear Father, always near us, may your name be treasured and loved, may your rule be completed in us—may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven.

Give us today the things we need today, and forgive us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.

Please don’t put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad. Because you are the one in charge, and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-which is just the way we want it!

Readers’ Choice is here!

#ReadersChoice is time for you to share favorite Park Forum posts from the year.
What post reminded you of Christ’s love?

https://forms.gle/aSD7X5psHqjSMtBFA

Read more: Inaugurating The Era of the Servant

Jesus is the fulfillment of every era and every need. Today, his body, the church, is called to live out the era of love and service.

Inaugurating The Era of the Servant

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Genesis 50 Listen: (4:07), Read: Matthew 11 Listen: (4:06)

Scripture Focus: Genesis 50.24-26

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Reflection: Resisting Cultural Pressure

By John Tilman

Joseph assimilated a great degree into Egyptian culture.

It was impossible for Joseph to prevent or resist some assimilation to the culture he was unwillingly trapped in. Rising out of slavery did not make this easier. Greater levels of privilege create greater pressure to assimilate.

Joseph married into a powerful, prominent family. His father-in-law, Potiphera, was high priest of the Egyptian sun god, Re in the city of On, better known by its Greek name Heliopolis, meaning “City of the Sun.”

Joseph adopted Egyptian dress and cultural practices, including Egyptian burial practices for his beloved father and himself. (Genesis 50.2, 26)

However, Joseph maintained faithfulness to God and adapted to maintain his identity in many ways. He affirmed God as the source of his sexual ethic and his skills of interpretation. He named his children referencing his faith. He secured his family a separate area in which to live.

Regardless of his level of cultural assimilation or his comfort and privilege, Joseph recognized that Egypt was not his home, nor that of his descendants, nor that of the descendants of his brothers. Assuring his brothers that God would “come to your aid” (Genesis 50.25) meant assuming that they would need God’s aid.

Did “that dreamer” (Genesis 37.19-20) have another prophetic dream from God? If so, scripture does not report it. However, with or without divine revelation, Joseph saw trouble coming for his family in Egypt.

We also face these cultural pressures. Trouble is coming. Our culture does its best to get inside us and usurp our identity. Culture tells us that we are Americans first (or Indians or Europeans or Australians or South Africans…). Culture wants us to think we are primarily identified by our race or sexuality or gender or political party, but no cultural identity is our primary identity. (Galatians 3.28)

We are children of Abraham’s promise and carriers of his blessing to the world. That is our gospel identity. Anything else must submit to that or be swept away before it. We must adapt or avoid cultural mandates that conflict with our God-given identity.

Just as Israel claimed Joseph’s children as his, God lays his claim on us. We are not at home in this world or in our “home” culture. Let us not expect comfort but struggle, knowing that God will come to our aid and take us home.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. — Psalm 31.24

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Public, Prayerful, Persistent Protest

Those who wish to regulate protests often say to protesters, “Not here. Not now. Not like this.”

Public, Prayerful, Persistent Protest

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Genesis 47 Listen: (5:03), Read: Matthew 8 Listen: (4:09)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Genesis 48 Listen: (3:43), Read: Matthew 9 Listen: (4:56)
Read: Genesis 49 Listen: (4:54), Read: Matthew 10 Listen: (5:07)

Scripture Focus: Genesis 47.20-25

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. 23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.” 25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

Reflection: Don’t Empower Villain Eras

By John Tillman

The problem of sorting the Bible into “heroes” and “villains” is forgetting that the same person who is heroic in one moment can be villainous in another.

Joseph is one of the most wholesome characters in the Bible. But he has villain moments. It’s debatable how prideful he was as a young man with his dreams. However, his actions in Genesis 47 read as if he had entered a villain era.

Joseph’s plan to get through the famine was for the state to collect twenty percent of harvests during the plentiful seven years. Then, Egypt would be saved from being “ruined by the famine” during the seven lean years. (Genesis 41.35-36) But when the famine hit, Joseph didn’t distribute the grain freely. Joseph took the people’s grain. They had to buy it back.

Selling the grain might not be unreasonable, but Joseph’s villain era started in the final years of the famine, when people grew desperate. The sixth year, they had no money so Joseph took their livestock. The final year, they had no money or livestock, so Joseph took their land and made them slaves.

It’s possible that Joseph didn’t have a choice. Maybe Pharaoh ordered this? Maybe there were terrible administrative costs? But scripture seems to imply it was Joseph’s decision. Pharaoh said, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” (Genesis 41.55)

Even if this was not Joseph’s villain era, it empowered a future villain era.

Joseph was complicit in using a crisis to consolidate power and wealth under Pharaoh. Egypt was already a monarchy, but after the famine it was a nation of slaves in which Pharaoh owned the land, livestock, and the lives of the citizens. The power and wealth Joseph gave Pharaoh, turned against future generations of Israelites. (Exodus 1.8-14)

Joseph was dealing with a real crisis. Many leaders today create fake crises in order to consolidate power for themselves. You may have the right or ability to grant leaders emergency power or approve their expansion of power, but what will happen when the crisis is over? What if the hero turns villainous? What will tomorrow’s leaders do with the power you give today’s leaders?

Whether national or local, political or pastoral, leaders who desire unaccountable power, loyalty without transparency, and removal of checks and balances are dangerous.

Be careful that you don’t unintentionally empower a future villain era.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

For your name’s sake, O Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great. — Psalm 25.10

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Playing the Game for Fickle Pharaohs

If they break rules to help us, they will break rules to harm us.

https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/playing-the-game-for-fickle-pharaohs

Read more: Divining the Truth by Actions

When reconciling with people, trust but verify. Watch for evidence of change. Don’t doubt their intentions, but divine the truth by their actions.

Divining the Truth by Actions