Larry Shaffer

Clothed in Honor No More

Clothed in Honor No More 

Genesis 37 

Lesson 6 

Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. So, she conceived and bore a son and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach.’ She named him Joseph... Genesis 30:22-24 

When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, A wild beast devoured him. Then let us see what will become of his dreams!’  

But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben further said the them, ‘Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him’ --that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. 

So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it. Genesis 37:18-24 

Siblings are acutely aware of the favoritism of a father, regardless of how subtle. In Jacob’s case, it was not so subtle.

Jacob had several wives but he loved Rachel more than any of them. Rachel was barren for many, many years and Jacob had many sons with his other wives. But in Jacob’s old age, as part of God’s plan toward the redemption of Israel and toward the fulfillment of His covenant with Israel, God allowed Rachel to give birth to a son, Joseph. Read more

by Larry Shaffer

The Birth of Hatred

The Birth of Hatred 

Genesis 37 

Joseph, Lesson 5 

Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his bothers while he was still a youth...and Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. Genesis 37:2-3 

The phrase 'These are the records of the generations of Jacob' is actually a very important line in understanding the book of Genesis. Eleven times in the Genesis the phrase 'records of the generations of ...' is used. They are like 'mile markers' on an interstate that alert you where you are at on the journey or in the case of Genesis, where you are at in the early journey or in the Genesis of the story of God's plan of Redemption. In chapter 37, we are at the 'mile marker' of Jacob and his generations or descendants. There will be more on this later.

The story of Joseph dominates the record of Jacob's generation in Genesis chapters 37-50. We will find that Joseph does some pretty honorable things in his life. He will be a pre-shadow of Christ in that he will live righteously in a foreign land, be falsely accused, bear the ridicule and punishment silently, trust in God and ultimately saves his people. But as we open the story, he is a seventeen-year-old kid. He is the youngest of 12 sons, the father’s obvious favorite who can do ‘no wrong’, and he clearly has an attitude. 

So, how did the brothers feel about Joseph? Read more

by Larry Shaffer

Our Redeemer

This Saturday we'll be back with the newest graduates of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program to help them buy new suits!

Our Redeemer 

Genesis

Lesson 4 

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you’ when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-4 

Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 47:4 

The Bible is not primarily a book of character studies; it is a book of redemption. I tend to view Old Testament characters and ask questions about their morality and how I should then live following their example. This is not bad, per se, and there is much I can learn about how to act, what I should say and how I should think. But I was reminded again this morning that the primary, overall theme of the Old Testament stories is that of redemption. Read more

by Larry Shaffer

Genesis 37

This is a pic from several years back but will always be one of my favorites!

Genesis 37 

Joseph, Lesson 1 

Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generation of Jacob...now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons... Genesis 37:1-3 

As we approach chapter 37, the book of Genesis has unfolded the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob, also called by the name of Israel, had twelve sons and lived in Hebron which is part of Canaan. Joseph is the youngest of the twelve. Canaan is the promised land that God pledged to Abraham but Jacob’s residence was that of an alien-resident of Canaan. Israel did not yet have “possession” of the land. 

The promise of the land is an important part of the covenant God made with Abraham. From a spiritual sense, the wandering of the Israelites through foreign countries along with their future in residence in Egypt, and then ultimately, wandering in the wilderness, pictures our lives on earth as aliens with our ultimate destination being that of heaven. Read more

by Larry Shaffer

God’s Story

God’s Story 

His Story Told His Way! 

God tells a story differently than most of our familiar literary giants. I recently googled the greatest books and novels ever written. As I scanned the various lists I discovered an obvious omission… 

The lists were interesting, but nowhere did I find a list that recognized the Bible as one of the great books. No surprise, I suppose. I’m not going to cry or moan about it because after all, we shouldn’t expect such recognition from the literary aristocrats of our modern age. Consequently, there was no mention of any of the great stories of the Bible. Once again, no surprise.

We will discover that the story of Joseph is a great story but there is something missing from it that we find in the recognized literary greats. Biblical stories lack a certain level of volume and detail. Read more

by Larry Shaffer

What’s in a story?

This is a scene from our recent trip to Tahoe, CA. It's going to be a record snow year for them.

What’s in a story? 

Discovering God’s Truth in Bible Narratives 

God is the original story teller. He loves a good story. About three years ago, after many years of focusing on the New Testament, I turned my attention to Old Testament narratives. It has been quite a rewarding journey and only makes me want to explore more. 

So, why, do you suppose, does God uses narrative to communicate us His truth? Why not just use precepts, epistles and law? In the link below is a video with a familiar Bible story. It’s a 60 second commercial that aired during the Superbowl many years ago. Take a minute to watch it.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_D4QN6y2Q0 

The impact of this commercial was because of the familiarity that the average person has of this Bible story. The same impact couldn’t happen with a biblical precept, epistle or law. Narratives (stories) comprise nearly half of the Old Testament. They are obviously an important literary style that God enjoys using. There are several reasons, I believe, that God chose to use narratives as a primary means of communicating His Story and key Theological truths. Read more

by Larry Shaffer