Gluten Free & God Seeking: Life-Study of Genesis

Showing posts with label Life-Study of Genesis. Show all posts

Monday, December 11, 2023

The Bookends in Genesis and Revelation

The Bible has two bookends in Genesis and Revelation. Have you ever heard that before? And before I get into what they are, you need to keep in mind that Moses wrote the book of Genesis thousands of years before the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation. Also, the order of the Bible wasn’t finalized until much later.

So, the first bookend is presented in chapter 2 of Genesis. In this chapter the setting of the Garden of Eden is described along with Adam naming the animals, and God preparing a counterpart for Adam. Embedded deeper in this chapter is the mention of some seemingly arbitrary items like the tree of life, a river, gold, bdellium, onyx stone, and a rib that God used to build into Eve. Hmmm, what is God getting at here?

First, I want to make it clear that I never could have put all these items together in a way that makes sense even though I have been reading the Bible for over forty years. That’s the main reason I enjoy reading the Life-Studies which are the printed form of the messages that Witness Lee gave from 1974-1995. Anyway, I read Genesis Life-Study #12 on this chapter a few weeks ago, and Witness Lee said the contents of this chapter might seem simple, but actually they’re quite meaningful.

He said that all the items mentioned in Genesis chapter 2 are meaningful because they give us a picture of God’s eternal purpose. Early in this chapter we see God bringing Adam to the center of the garden and showing him two trees. One tree God called the tree of life and the other the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Don’t you find it interesting that God doesn’t give Adam a long speech on how to live a proper human life that would please Him, but instead God just warns Adam that if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die.

Probably many people have gotten confused here because when Eve ate the fruit of this tree, she didn’t keel over and die. Instead she took that fruit to Adam, and he ate of it, too and there's no mention of their death. So obviously what God is talking about here is spiritual death. We can see that clearly in Ephesians 2:1 because Paul mentions there that before our salvation our spirits were dead in sins and trespasses. So figuratively eating that fruit deadened Adam and Eve’s spirit, which by the way was such a big deal that God had to send His Son to die for our sins.

In order to understand what these two trees represent, we need to backup and look at God's creation of Adam. The Bible shows us in various places that when God created man, He made him with three parts, a physical body, a soul with a mind, emotion, and will, and finally with a spirit (Genesis 2:7, Job 32:8, and 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Just like God made man to eat food to survive, so God made man with a spirit so he could receive God’s life as spiritual food. So I was so amazed to learn years ago from this Life-Study of Genesis that those two trees were a picture of two sources for man to live by.

After describing these trees, Moses writes about the river flowing through the garden of Eden. In that river Moses mentions three outstanding elements—gold, bdellium, and onyx stone. I would never have seen this but in this Life-Study, brother Lee says that each of these elements represent something about the Triune God! Because gold cannot burn or tarnish and is of great value, theologians say that gold represents the Father. I never heard of bdellium before, but it’s a pearl-like resin from a plant that represents the Son. And onyx stone represents an element that has been transformed by heat and pressure which shows the transforming work of the Spirit in our lives. That is definitely worth a wow!

At the end of Genesis chapter two we see Adam naming all the animals and then God putting Adam to sleep so He could make a helpmeet for him. It’s interesting that God doesn’t take clay like when He made Adam, but instead God opens up Adam’s stomach and takes out one of his ribs and from that the Bible uses an unusual expression, it says “God built a woman.” The Life-Study brings all this together when it sys if Genesis 2 is a picture of God’s purpose, then this woman built out of Adam’s rib represents the church built with Christ’s life to be His counterpart. All of these items in chapter two wouldn’t make much sense alone.

So now it’s time to look at the bookend in the book of Revelation. Open up your Bible to Revelation 21 and read it again in light of all the symbolism from Genesis 2 that this Life-Study unfolds so beautifully. In Revelation 21 you read about a river with the tree of life growing in it and also about a city called the New Jerusalem. And if you look carefully and get ready to go wow again--you will see that this city is built with none other than gold, pearls (like bdellium), and precious stones! Revelation opens up by telling us that it is a book of signs. The description of his city is not something physical but symbolic of God’s work in His redeemed people to transform them into --drum roll please and another wow-- the bride of the Lamb!

So, with the help of these two bookends God is showing us a picture of His heart’s desire. I was so touched to learn through my reading of the Life-Studies that throughout all the centuries God has been working to transform His redeemed people into the New Jerusalem, His bride. Below you can see a link to listen to the Life-Study of the Bible and also some posts I did several years ago when I was reading through this particular Life-Study. You can read any of these Life-Studies for free.

You can also listen to live excerpts from these messages on Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?
How Did the Lord Shepherd Jacob in Genesis 45:18?

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?

The story of Joseph is not just about sibling rivalry gone haywire. As far as that goes, the brothers' jealousy and plotting to get rid of Joseph seems more like a modern day drama than a story out of the Bible. But the fact that it did actually encourages me. If Jacob's family had been too perfect, I wouldn't be that able to relate to them. These Life-Studies on Jacob and Joseph have encouraged me for many years to not give up.

And it's not like Joseph did anything to deserve being sold to traders or unjustly accused by Potiphar's wife and then thrown into the dungeon. And it's not like he was there for just three months or two years--Joseph was in prison for over ten years!!

But when Joseph becomes second in command, you don't see a bitter young man trying to get even with society or his family. You see a true reflection of God. I was fascinated to see on pages 1188 and 1190 in chapter 92 of the Life-Study of Genesis that the story Jacob and Joseph's story show how God fulfilled His desire that man have His image and dominion:

"The subject of Genesis is man bearing the image of God and exercising God's dominion over all things….In order to know this in a progressive way, we need all fifty chapters of this book. All the generations recorded in it--Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph--are for one purpose: to show that God's economy in the universe is to express Himself through man. This is God's purpose, God's goal, and the desire of God's heart….The record in the Bible has a purpose. Genesis, a book of God's image and dominion, shows a complete picture of how human beings can be remade and transformed to express God in His image and to represent Him with His dominion. The last fourteen chapters of Genesis indicate that after Jacob had become Israel, he bore the image of God and exercised the dominion of God. The book of Genesis is complete; it ends the way it begins. It begins and ends with God's image and dominion" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1977, Print).

From my reading I saw that everything that happened to Joseph was actually training him to become a ruler of Egypt. At every turn he was actually being disciplined and prepared for the throne. And God is doing the same thing in our lives.

You can also listen to live excerpts from these messages on Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
What is the Meaning of the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35?

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Why Did Jacob Call the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?

After twenty years of wheeling and dealing, God told Jacob in Genesis 31:3 to head back to Canaan. When Jacob returned, he built his very first altar in Shechem and called it El-Elohi-Israel (Gen. 33:20). In Hebrew that name means the God of Israel. But after tragedy struck, God told him to go to Bethel. And when he arrived there, he built another altar, but he gave it a totally different name. Jacob called this altar El-Bethel, which in Hebrew means the God of the house of God (Gen. 35:7).

Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make there an altar unto God. Genesis 35:1

What I read in chapter 80 of the Life-Study of Genesis helped me not to gloss over these two names, because actually they are very meaningful. In this section Witness Lee points out that in Shechem Jacob named the altar after his own name, but in Bethel, he called it after the God of a corporate dwelling place. The light in this chapter is phenomenal; here are some key parts on pages 1026, 1028, and 1030 that bring out how these two altars connect to our Christian life:

"In Genesis 35 we see a crucial and radical turn. However, not many children of God appreciate this. They read this chapter again and again without recognizing the radical turn contained in it. Before this chapter, God was the God of individuals. He was the God of Abel, the God of Enosh, the God of Enoch, the God of Noah, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac. But here He is no longer just the God of individuals, but El-Bethel, the God of the house of God…. This is also true of the experience of God, for the experience of God has a corporate aspect as well as an individual aspect….In calling the altar [at Shechem] El-elohe-Israel, he was actually calling it the God of himself.
… The individual experience of God is good, but it is insufficient. We need to go on from the individual experience to the corporate experience.... But where was that consecration--at Shechem or at Bethel?….But the consecration I made after coming into the church life was much higher than any previous consecration" (Lee, Witness. Life-study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1978, Print)

Walking with my grandkids.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph

I’ve heard it said that Genesis is a book of pictures. And if you take the snapshots from the lives of just Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, what do you think you would see? From my reading of chapter 66 of the Life-Study of Genesis I found out that all of their lives would show us one believer’s spiritual journey!

My husband took this picture of Mt. Shasta
when he and my son were on a road trip.

In case you’re thinking, what's up with that? I’m going to put the excerpts on pages 867 and 869 so you can see how all these four stories overlap to make the story of one believer:

"God called Abraham and he was caught. But the genuine beginning did not start in Chaldea; it started with God’s selection before the foundation of the world. This beginning is found in Jacob, not in Abraham….We do not see that Abraham was transformed into a prince of God. If we would see the beginning and ending of the experience of God, we must come to Jacob….What is the purpose of God’s calling? It is to transform us into kings. We can see this in Jacob, but not in Abraham or Isaac. Isaac only knew to eat “savory meat.” ..…God’s purpose for Jacob was not to give him peace, joy, and a happy life and then to take him to heaven. God’s purpose was to deal with this pitiful supplanter until he was transformed into a prince of God bearing His image to express Him and expressing His dominion to represent Him. This is God’s goal. When we come to the end of Genesis, we see that Israel was exactly this type of person....Furthermore, through Joseph, he was the one who had dominion over the whole earth, representing God on the earth" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1974 Print).

Seeing this has helped me to go beyond just reading and thinking about the accounts of these patriarch’s lives in Genesis as isolated Bible stories. Probably what jolted me the most was seeing the purpose of God’s calling.

Here’s a what I came away with after reading this chapter: Before we were even born,1 Peter 1:2 tells us that God foreknew us. Then in Romans 9 Paul goes into how God chose Jacob before he and Esau could have done good or bad (9:11-13). We were just God’s choice—and there’s no figuring that out. Like Paul says in Romans 9:14-16, we'd have to say that our salvation is all because of God’s mercy. But our calling has a purpose, and it’s not a ticket to heaven while you do whatever you want now and hope it all works out.

In this Life-Study I learned that Ephesians 1:4 and 5 clearly state that the purpose of God's selecting, predestinating, and calling us is to make us sons. But that’s not the end of the story. Look at yourself and you’ll have to admit you’re a long way off from looking like Jacob and Joseph did at the end of their lives.

In the last paragraph of this chapter Witness Lee says that today we are all on the way of Jacob. All of our sufferings, afflictions, trials, and hardships have one purpose and that is to conform us like Romans 8:29 says into the image of the Son of God. I don’t know about you but hearing this makes everything in my life make sense. And I know that whatever this new year brings, it's part of my own spiritual journey!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?

The sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau went to a whole new level after Jacob lied and cheated to get Esau’s blessing. Of course, Esau was outraged, and word got to Rebekah that he was out to kill Jacob because of it. To help Esau cool down, Rebekah persuaded Isaac to send Jacob to Haran to stay awhile with her brother Laban.

So thanks to all his conniving and cheating, Jacob is now walking on the same dusty road that his grandfather Abraham had walked on over 100 years before. But he’s all alone and probably doing a lot of thinking.

Only one part of this journey is recorded in the Bible, and that should make us pay closer attention. After a long day’s journey, Jacob takes a stone and makes it into a pillow. Does that not sound a little strange to you? Then he has this dream:

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

…And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is his place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Genesis 28:12, 16-17

In chapters 68, 69, and 72 Witness Lee points out all the incredible symbolism in this dream. Here are some excerpts from
pages 885-889 in chapter 68 and page 928 from chapter 72 that focus on the meaning of the ladder with the angels of God:

"The center of this dream was a ladder….It was a ladder already existing on earth, not one descending from heaven….But this verse says that the angels were descending and ascending…..When we come to the New Testament, we see that Christ is the ladder which Jacob saw. In John 1:51 Jesus said to Nathanael: Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man. Christ is the One who brings heaven to earth and earth to heaven….I believe that whenever a sinner receives the Lord Jesus and is saved, many angels ascend to heaven bearing the good news" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1975, Print).

At the close of chapter 68, Witness Lee tells his readers that instead of trying to overcome their sins or conquer their weaknesses, we just need to come to Christ as the heavenly ladder. When we talk to the Lord and pray, He brings us to God and God to us. It touched me when I read that when we do this, we give God the way to transforms us and build us up into Bethel, the house of God.

You can also listen to live excerpts from these messages on Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call theTwo Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?

Sunday, December 20, 2015

How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?

What was the deal between Jacob and Esau? From the get-go Jacob was determined to get the birthright and the firstborn’s blessing. The Bible says they even wrestled with each other in their mother’s womb. At every turn Jacob tried to outsmart his brother. God must have laughed when He watched Jacob’s schemes.

I took this picture on a trip to Mt. Baker

These twin brothers were so totally different from one another. Esau liked to hunt and make his father’s favorite dish while Jacob was a swindler, liar, and cheater. Hmmm, If you were God which one would you choose to be the father of the nation of Israel? Believe it or not, God chose Jacob. The New Testament sheds a lot of light on the story of Jacob:

The children not yet being born, nor having done anything good or bad that the purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works, but of Him who calls. Romans 9:11

So we learn from Paul that hidden in the story of Jacob we see the matter of God’s selection. That might be a bit mind boggling when you put that next to man’s free will. How can these two be reconciled with each other? I got a lot of help understanding this when I read something by D.L. Moody—He said something like this--before you’re saved the sign says “Whosoever will let him come and take the water of life freely.” Then after you’re saved and you turn around, the back of the sign says, “Chosen before the foundation of the world.” Only God can pull something like that!

Witness Lee’s sharing on God’s selection in chapter 66 of the Life-Study of Genesis is very enlightening. I’ve excerpted some key parts from pages 862-863 and 866-867:

In Jacob, we see God’s selection, the matter of Jacob’s being chosen (25:21-26; 1 Pet. 2:99)…..Jacob was chosen before his birth, even before the foundation of the world (25:22-23; Rom. 9:11; Eph. 1:4). We, like Jacob, were also chosen before we were born….Jacob, the naughty one, the heel holder, the supplanter, was chosen by God. This was what determined his future….Likewise, our being chosen is not according to our struggling …..God’s selection in eternity past was followed by His pre

destination (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5)….God selected us in eternity past and called us in time….We have been selected and called for God’s purpose (Rom. 9:11)….What is the purpose of God’s calling? It is to transform His called ones into kings. We can see this purpose in Jacob, but not in Abraham or Isaac (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1975, Print).

Did you catch that part about the purpose of God’s calling is to transform His chosen ones into kings? I had to do a double-take on that when I read that a few years ago. Look at Jacob in the beginning of the story in Genesis 25 and then trace all the events that happened to him throughout his life. I wrote them down one time—wow--what a transformation journey he went on! Now look at this same man at the end of the story in Genesis 47-49 and, you see a man who is fully transformed and matured and blessing Pharaoh, the highest ruler of the day! And guess what, I learned from my reading that this is our journey, too!

You can also listen to live excerpts from these messages on Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call theTwo Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?

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