The halfbaked Bard

Judah owns up the second time. He was the one who suggested to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. He might have seen the grief of his father. He personally has suffered loss of his two sons in between, Er and Onan. He might have regretted taking that choice.  But now he has got a second chance. Others kept quiet. But Judah speaks up. He owns up to his father regarding his brother Benjamin.  "You may hold me responsible if I don't bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever." Gen 43/9 Similarly he also speaks up before the prime minister of Egypt (who curiously is very inquisitive of their family) - "So please my Lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy and let the boy return with his brothers." Gen 44/33 This is how you learn from your mistakes. Life gives you a second chance, own up for your mistakes and do the right thing the next time. Do not keep doing the wrong things. If the Holy Spirit prompts you, just do it immediately...

Joseph had his dreams, when he was young Now his dreams have become true in Egypt Reuben and his brothers, remembered what they did To their brother, in Egypt when the governor was harsh Jacob had his share of being cheated He remembered how he cheated his father and brother God is no one's debtor He is Sovereign, He is in full control Dear friend, are you going through a testing time Because of harsh treatment from others Are you easily trampled upon Remember God is the Sovereign ruler Just like Joseph, He will lift you up in the right time But can we reply, even if He doesn't I will follow Him, I will cling on.  For in Him I have found out what is called LOVE. 

Majority of the initial 30 years of Joseph's life was toil, harsh treatment and undeserved cruelty. He waited without complaining, without any pride, or being demanding. He waited patiently.  In the right time God restores Joseph's life. All that He promised. Beyond what he could imagine. Second only to the most powerful man of the world.  Friend, are you going through a tough time. Wait patiently. He will restore you at the right time.  1Pet:5:6 Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God and at the right time he will lift you up in honour.  Isa:61:7 Instead of shame you will have a double portion.  Instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion The Lord says...  I will restore to you the years t hat the swarming locust has eaten,the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,my great army, which I sent among you Joel 2:25 Everything that has been lost will be restored unto you. Because you are highly favoured in His eyes....

Gen 41 Two full years Joseph had to wait after his interpretation of the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. The cupbearer had forgotten Joseph. And Joseph continued in prison (not in a palace) with full of uncertainty. No guarantee that the cupbearer would anytime remember him at all. No surety that he would be set free at all. Without any words of complain about his brothers, Potiphar or his wife, nor about the cupbearer I believe he would have continued in those two years, just like the previous ones, being the prison warden's favourite, being in charge of all other prisoners doing everything meticulously and happily. He had only set backs in his life from all whom he thought loved him. But he was willing to wait. He was willing to do it ungrudgingly.  How do I wait? Restless? Complainingly? Or happily doing our chores as for God. Patiently for the Lord's hand? I believe those two years would have been the most difficult for Joseph. But probably the best, beca...

Recently I heard my father, telling our children, how with great difficulty he has grown and reached this far. With no electricity, how three or four of them had to sit aroung a kerosene lamp to study. How he had meagre food to eat. How many miles he had to walk, because there were no public transport, forget about your own cars. But through it all how God had been faithful. How God has been wonderful in His life and how imperative it is to cling to God. He was also quoting Deutr:11:19. "Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." I was reminded of the verse today as I sat for my quiet time.  Psalm:44:1 O God we have heard it with our own ears.  Our ancestors have told us All you did in their day In days long ago.  What do we feed our children with? Is it a competitive spirit or a dependant spirit? Are we teaching them to see this world with  the ey...

The Lord was with Joseph.  What does it really mean, when you wish someone, "The Lord is with you"? Many a times we look into Joseph's life and say "The Lord is with you and will help you succeed in everything you do." Yes that is true - in Potiphar's house, in the prison we see Joseph being blessed in this.  But in the prison, there is another phrase which we often miss. Gen:39:21 The Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love.  That is what the presence of the Lord, should assure us of. That I'm loved, especially in prison times. That I would be sure of His faithful love. Not that I should succeed. That is all secondary. Unless I'm rooted in the assurance that I'm unendingly loved by my God, even when I'm all alone in the busy world, even when my own dear ones fail to love me as I am, my God loves me with an everlasting love. This is what should bring you from prison times. This is what you should cling ...

To tear oneself away from sin, requires a lot of will power and self control. Requires a lot of determination, more so a lot of focus on whom you are following, the standards and etiquettes of your Master. It denotes your love and to whom you are loyal to - to yourself? Secret pleasures, protection of your own interests, self centred, filled with self love. Or to your Father who is holy and wholly blemishless.  If you want to tear yourself from something really alluring, wailing a big NO, then your bond to Him must be really strong. Most importantly you should really understand and recognize His love. How unconditionally He loves you. His faithful love to you never fails. It always endures. His steadfast unconditional love. And once you realize that love, it pulls you to Him, rather than pushing you away from sin.  Gen:39:12 Joseph tore himself away. 

In all stories, if the hero is being held misunderstood midway, the climax would be proving him innocent. All support characters would realize their mistakes. And the villian, or the one who had a secret gain out of all this will duly be punished. The hero is picturized as an enduring, long suffering, forbearing, tolerant thread which held the story together and he is duly appreciated and adored. Many a times, real life is not like that and that is exactly why I love the Bible, because it is full of real life characters, rather than superheroes who is loved by all.  One great example is Joseph - who stood for his God and said, "How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God" And had to suffer because the villianess had the upper hand. We do not see the misunderstanding being reinstated, Potiphar apologizing nor his wife punished. Life goes on. The chain of events lead to another and then to another.  Ultimately we see Joseph in the Prime Minister's chair...

Gen 39 The Lord was with Joseph He suceeded in everything he did Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him The Lord began to bless his household Because of Joseph's sake.  Psalm:1:3c says Whatever they do, prosper.  About whom? Those who stay away from the wicked, the sinners and the mockers and more importantly, those who delight in the law of the Lord and meditates it day and night.  All of us, want to be successful, in what we venture out. No matter how spiritual we are, we do not want to be called a failure. We hope and pray that whatever we do, would go well - be it our studies, be it our work, be it a new job opportunity or an interview to attend, be it trying out hands in unprecedented waters, be it our ministry we want to be successful. Joseph's life and Psalm 1 are the key to it.  I'm not saying, we can see God as a success generator. But think the other way. If you pursue God and His heart, He will give you ideas and opportunities to venture out a...

(Pic courtesy - moskophoros _ meaning bearer of the calf, one of the earliest depiction of Jesus Christ found in the St. Callisto catacomb in Rome)  Psalm 43:3  Send out your light and your truth Let them guide me.  Let them lead me to your Holy mountain To the place where you live.  Light is quintessential for man to walk. So that he would see where he sets his foot, where he walks, where he is guided. Many a times captives are often blindfolded, so that they wouldn't know where they were going, as a means of torturing them.  So is truth - knowing the truth brings in more clarity. And when you have clarity you can be sure of what you are doing. It brings much freedom.  John:8:32 And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  Jesus says - I am the light of the world and I am the way, the truth and the life. And He is the One who leads us to the Holy mountain of God. He is the bridge of our salvation. He is the One who made us...

Gen:37:26 We'd have to cover up the crime.  Joseph's brothers thought covering up a crime of lying that the brother was killed, when they had actually sold him to Egyptians was way better than lying the same way, when they had actually killed him. They thought there is a gradation in sin. They thought lying is a less graver sin, where as they were already sinning in jealousy, in pride and in lying.  Isa:64:6. All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.  When we come to the Holy God we realize our sinfulness and not just our sins. Every sin is a sin in God's eyes. There is no big sin or small sin in God's perspective.  James:2:10 For the person who keep all of the laws except one is guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws.  Hence we need a Saviour. That is the relevance of the Cross. 

Joseph would have been shattered. Not just his dreams or hopes alone. His heart as well. Devastated, wrecked and ravaged. His own brothers, his own family, his own blood betrayed him.  But for Reuben, I would have fallen dead in this cistern, he thought. What shall I think of the beating and bruising and jeering? "What of your dream now?" They made fun. Earlier none of them believed, they ridiculed me. Yes they hated me for that. But now there is physical abuse. Seriously, they did never love me. Aren't they my own dear brothers? What wrong did I do? I thought they would be proud of my dreams too. That through me our family would go greater heights. Don't they understand? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is with us brothers too. Then why did they do this to me?  All alone in this cistern now. I could hear of the drinking and laughing up there. They are happy because they could get rid of me. So, it was not an accident. It was not instinctive or impulsiv...

Joseph was quiet naive. He openly proclaims his dreams to his family. Of course they didn't like it at all.  We ought to be wise in what we say. Can't blurt out everything we think. We have to be cautious. In what we say, to who we say, about whom we say.  Matt:10:16 Therefore be shrewd as snakes and innocent doves.  Why? The world is so corrupted. The world thinks in all construed ways. Because we are sheep among wolves.  May the Lord help us to be wise as well as innocent. 

Gen:37:1-4 A chain of events. What it leads to ultimately is not what was originally intended. Jacob loved Joseph more because he was born of his old age. Because of it the brothers hated him and therefore could not speak a kind word to him.  Can't say who is at fault. Can't bog anyone down.  Jacob - Well! All he did was to love his son. It is not said he hated others.  Joseph - He was just being true to his father, giving a bad report of his brothers.  His own brothers - They were really insecure, having an identity crisis with their brother.  But ultimately the devil uses the opportunity to create unrest.  Hence we have to be cautious. Are we the reason for another man falling? Are we a stumbling block to anyone? Are we the cause of someone's jealousy? Do we show partiality in love? The command given to us is to love your neighbour as yourself. And who is your neighbour? Who the Jew was to the good Samaritan. Are you jealous or filled with hat...

Gen:36:8 Esau moved his settlement away from Canaan to Sier. Why? Because his and Jacob's possessions were too great for the land to support.  So he moved out of the promise, which God gave his fathers. Where as Jacob moved in, comes back to the promise. Similar contrast we see in Lot and Abraham.  Esau as he moves out of the plan of God, he slowly fades away. Though we see his sons as enemies to the nation Israel as they come back to Canaan, we do not see Esau as prominent as Jacob, because he despised the promise of God.  Does your blessing take you away from God? Do you desire for blessings, seeking the will of God? Asking God? Is your blessing a cause for you to fade away from God's presence and purpose? Are you desperate for the blessing so much so that ultimately it will lead you to forget God?  Blessings and miracles are all means to come closer to God, so that you may trust Him more. Not that it would take you further away from God. 

Gen:35:16-29 After the second Bethel experience, Jacob has three disappointments happening on the trot. The death of Rachel, Reuben his first son sleeping with his concubine Bilhah, death of his father Isaac.  Going through Bethel and receiving promises from a faithful God is no guarantee for a care free life.  John:16:33b In this world, you will have trouble.  As children of God, as heirs of God, as co-heirs with Christ, you naturally expect huge turn of events - free of troubles. But the promise, the El-Shaddai God gives is not a disappointment free life, but His everlasting presence with us. But take heart, I have overcome the world. 

Gen:35:1-7 Luke:15:11-32 The choice to return back home is the most onerous but most rewarding. The most arduous but most gratifying.  Whereas choosing not to return, be it out of fear of consequences or persisting on rebellion or equivocality, is because of pride.  Situation changed for the son, when he chose to return back to his father.  Isa:30:15 In returning and rest is your salvation. - NKJV NIV uses the word repentance.  There is a lot of humbling and accepting your wrongs in your homecoming. Vocalizing that you have wronged. Accepting your mistakes. Because we are returning to a Holy God and we had demolished His trust in us. We have shattered and trampled upon His love.  Jacob, when he was instructed to return back to Bethel and build an altar for God, the first thing he does is to get rid of all the foreign gods. And buried did he, them all under the oak of Shechem.  Return with repentance.  Return with heartache that you have dis...

Gen:34:30 When Jacob's sons Simeone and Levi, dealt treacherously against Hamor and Shechem, killing them all when they were still in pain of circumcision, Jacob was quick to rebuke them. He was in fact telling them, treachery and deceit is not the right way. I have lived it my way in the past and I have struggled because of my selfishness and cheating. And he is pleading with them not to tread in that same path.  Correcting and rebuking the children is the right way - as parents.  Spare the rod, spoil the child. Pro:13:24 Present day young parents might not agree to this and I might sound like a villian here. But it is God's way.  Direct your children unto the right path and when they are older they will not leave it Pro:22:6 We must remember our children are miniature us - rebellious, self centred, not God loving - they need to be tuned and pruned in the right path. Disciplining and pruning them is good for their lives. Taking things lightly and seeing their...

Gen 34 Deceit is one quality that haunts Jacob. He started everything with deceit - to Isaac and Esau. He was left deceited by his father in law - concerning Leah and Rebekah, concerning his wages. He sees his sons, working deceitfully with Shechem who came to ask the hand of his daughter Dina. He continues to see his sons, work deceit amongst themselves concerning Joseph. He lives with the false belief that his son is dead.  Why?  It all started with his deceit.  Ex:34:6-7 Gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished, he punishes the children and their children for the sin of their fathers to the third and fourth generation.  How cruel? But if we dig deep we understand that God is warning his own people, each generation if it continues on the sin of the previous generation, they will be accountable.  Immediately ...

Gen:33:20 As he settles in Succoth, Jacob builds an altar and worships God. Calls on His name - mighty is the God of Israel. El Elohe Israel.  Remember, he has recently been renamed as Israel. He saw how beautifully God has led him. How wonderfully well has things been arranged between him and Esau. How the mighty God has worked for him, in Esau's heart and enabled him to forgive him. Things which he couldn't do on his own, he saw God doing.  El Elohe Israel. Mighty God who personally does things in my favour, especially those which I am not able to do anything about. Looking back, even yesterday how many such things He has granted favour upon me. How much more should I be thankful.  If God is for us, who can be against us?  Rom:5:31b

This is a poem based on the stops Jacob had in his journey. May it throw light to our journey as well.  Bethel was life changing for Jacob House of God, where angels were going up and down The ladder which reached from earth to heaven But he received the promise and moved on The house of God has become some stop,  Where you are rejuvinated, have an experience and go The church has thus become a Bethel Be blessed and go your way.  Jacob moves to Paddan Aram, his uncle's place 20 years of toil, being cheated and hard work Where he is busy, building his own life His own empire, his own possessions Moving from Paddan Aram, he reaches Mahanaim He names it so, saying this is the camp of God Seeing angels of God, he might have remembered Bethel And recommitted his life, did he.  And thence he is motivated to reinstate with Esau An old sin, that had been pricking him He didn't know how, but he went ahead With his own wisdom, and God enabled.  He reaches Pen...

Gen:33:21 So Jacob's gift went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.  There is a time when you have to let go of everything you own. And spent night in the camp. Only then the real blessing will come. Jacob thought all his possessions and his livestock, his women and children were his greatest blessings. But only when he was willing to let go of it all (out of fear of losing it), he was called to be Israel.  This is something we need to underscore in our hearts and believe. Unless you let go, you wouldn't be really blessed  in God's terms.  Phil:4:19 And my God will meet all your need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  It is according to His glorious riches that He will bless, not according to your needs. But let go........ 

Gen:32:10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant.  Jacob, as fear grips his mind, whether Esau would exact his long awaited revenge on him, now there is an opportune moment, divides the family into two groups and then goes to God.  As he comes to God, as he humbles himself, he realizes the truth of his sinfulness and realizes that whatever he has are all a gift from God and he, out of all people, is totally unworthy to receive it all.  It is not the gift that reveals the unworthiness, but the Giver. It is not the amount he has that showed his unworthiness, but the quality of the giver. Because the giver has been gracious, he realized his unworthiness. Because the giver is holy, he realizes his sinfulness. He remembered his deceit, his lying.  Looking back into our own lives, there were kids smarter than us, intelligent than us, talented than us, but the Lord has been gracious to us. Not the weightage of blessings or...

Jacob had been living with fear of Esau althroughout his life. In an act of reinstation he sends gifts beforehand in order to appease him.  All because of deceit. All because of the fear of what Esau would do to him.  Fear of man, if it rules our heart may hamper the way we live. Your spiritual, emotional and physical health will be affected.  If you have done someone wrong, take the step to confess. God honours. God will take care of the consequences. Repent to God and get reinstated to Him first and then reinstate with your brother. You need not live with fear of how he would react althroughout your life and not act. 

Gen:31:50 Remember that God is a witness between you and me.  A quote which I remember seeing as a child when I paid visit to one of my relatives. God is the head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener at every conversation.  I remember, first reading it casually and had to give it a second look and re read it and then shudder at the very thought of it. Especially the last part. That God is listening to every conversation I make. In fact that the Lord sees everything I do, everything I say and even whatever I think. Even when I have the assurance that no one else is seeing, behind closed doors, under the bed sheet hiding. God sees.  This should create a seriousness in our minds althroughout our lives. That the Holy God is watching over. It gives an assurance, definitely yes. Also it gives a responsibility. God watching over is not as a harsh taskmaster but as a loving Father wanting you to choose Him over momentary pleasures, moment...

Habit is an act which done repeatedly so much so that it becomes part of lifestyle.  In fact it influences others too around you.  Jacob had the habit of cheating. Even after years of toil and hardworking and humbling, he couldn't let go of it. He finally cheats Laban to flee from him. His wife Rachel also cheats her father and takes his gods.  It takes a huge step to come out of your bad habits. When God convicts you, by your own strength you might not be able to. But earnestly pray and God will help. All it matters is your desire. You being conscious about it.  May the Lord help. 

Man may not forgive you, the sins against them All through your life, unrelenting, not slowing Fathers are not able to forgive their sons Daughters are not able to forgive their mothers For what they have done, for what they have said For what they have not done, for being inconsiderate Life would be a hell, being relentless With the question lingering in you "Will he ever forgive me? " But the assurance, to be able to reach out to God And experience His tender caressing Of a crying child, of a sorry son / daughter Is a reality too good to be true.  When you are honestly compunctious to God You can be sure to be granted forgiveness "Its okay my dear child I understand what you are going through.  No details expected No reasoning; just be forgiven Above all, the Cross stands as a testimony Of the eternal forgiveness you and I have been granted So that you and I wouldn't suffer in hell As do you now on earth Because of the unforgiveness in your heart Becaus...

Jacob gets the same cup of tea. He started with deceit He receives deceit. Linked to 14 years plus, of hard toil.  God is trying to communicate with him; dear Jacob what you have done is not right. May be he started to realize that. He has mellowed down. The person as he is, he would want to react and do things his own way. But he is willing to work hard another 7 more years, even when Rachel was given to him. Without much of reacting.  When God tries to communicate, we can rebel, we can give excuses, we can substantiate our actions. We can even over react. But it takes humility to mellow down and say, yes what I did was wrong. I am willing for your chastisement Lord, for I know you are a Holy God and no sin is not serious for you. I am willing.  God honours that acceptance and He will help you, He will bless you.