EuniceC

Jacob now begins to understand that God is a God of promise, a God unlike any other that he has known. His fear stems from the fact that in running away, he thought he would be running away from his sin and God, but God makes him understand that His purpose for him has nothing to so with his sin, but because He God has a plan that will not be thwarted by anyone, despite their sin. And that is the turning point for him. When we realise that we cannot run away from God, that point becomes our conversion point, like Jacob. The ladder is to signify that this is not one of the gods of the place where he has come to but the God of heaven and earth, who is omnipresent and who has followed him and will do what He has said

A bit of them all! That is the message God is giving to us as we study the characters of these people, that we can be like them all... There are times when I have behaved like Rebekah, taking things into my own hands simply because I have got a message from God about some event or situation, I also recall that I have been like Esau, despising the deep and spiritual things of God, and rather desiring the things of the flesh...did I not prefer to go that party instead of the bible study that one evening? And I have been like Jacob, led astray by what my worldly friends and even sometimes family members tell me to do and deceiving people to get my own way, even though I knew that wasn't the right things to do.... I cannot even begin to count the many times i have been blind to God's direction like Isaac...may God have mercy on me and through these lessons and His word, direct my heart and mind toward His perfection

Q1. Why does the New Testament condemn Esau for selling his birthright? (Hebrews 12:16-17) What did selling the birthright represent? What does this transaction say about Esau's character and values? What does it reveal about Jacob's character and values? Esau's birthright is seen as a spiritual gift from God, to have sold it meant he did not care to form a relationship with God or to bond with Him. He did not count his place and role given to him by God as firstborn of any importance. If you aren't interested in the spiritual, God cant use you, He needs willingness as well as a desire to submit to Him, listen to Him and do His will. Without spiritual discernment how can one do this? Esau lacked the depth God has found in His servants He has used in the times past, Moses, David, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah...Esau couldn't have done God's will to bring the fulfillment of His purpose to mankind. Jacob on the other hand, as deceitful as he was, had that depth that God needs, here, his character reveals him to be someone who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and even if a deeply spiritual person, he is willing to believe that his deceit is Gods favor shining on him, he thinks his shrewdness, albeit deceptive, is a God given gift.

I believe that Jesus, in order to fulfill the purpose of His mission on earth, had to be fully human, and this meant going through all that agony all for us, and having lost so much blood and so much fluid through the beatings, water was the first thing He could ask for. It is interesting to note that this also fulfilled the prophecies written concerning the Suffering Servant. He needed to keep up his strength for the right time to give up his spirit, He remained totally focused on the mission, even with all that pain and suffering...what greater love than this. Most of us would have given up and died there and then to end the misery. His experience on the cross was terrifying, and none of us would be able to go through that, that is why He did it for us...Thank you Father, for sending your son to die in my place. May I remain faithful to you always.

Jesus teaches us that humanity will come to a point like this some time in our lives....even the strongest Christian will get to a low point sometimes, but when we get there, we can still cry out to him and He will hear us. In those times, we feel like He has forsaken us, but we take consolation in His word that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, At that time, the human nature of Jesus felt the terror and horror of God turning away not from Him, but from the sins He was carrying, too many of them, too filthy, and only this pain could deal with them. When He cried out to the Father, Hebrews 5:7 tells us that He was heard because of His obedience. When it gets there, the cry of His children will reach His ears, and He will save us. Most times He saves in a way that we do not understand, but He hears and saves. May we be strengthened by the cry of Jesus, and coem to our Father whenever the need arises, becasue He is there for us.

Self deceit makes us feel that we have done nothing wrong, and makes us want to justify what we have done. The Holy Spirit speaks to us, but we deny Him audience in our hearts and continue to make ourselves believe that what we have done is okay. The heaviness in our hearts when we have sinned and know it, can only be taken away when we confess. As long as we don't confess, the Holy Spirit is not free to move about in our hearts and to live with us, and we feel alien to Him, Confession frees us by letting us come to terms with the sin and dealing with I, we need to admit our wrong, and get the reconciliation we need from God, for without Him, we are nothing, and with sin ruling our lives, we don't have Him. We feel too proud to admit our wrongs, we feel we know it all, we are justified and we are right, so we do not see the sin in God's eyes. Sometimes, God brings us to a place where we realize that we cannot go on: deep conviction, heaviness, a sadness that cannot be relived by anything. Here, we begin to see with God's eyes, which is the Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes, like the prodigal son, we come to the realization that disobedience has brought us to this place and if we had been obedient, we wouldn't be suffering like this, and that makes us go back for confession.

Jesus needed to make them understand that the Messiah was not a physical role only but first and foremost a spiritual King, whose lineage was higher than that of David. As the Son of God, He was higher than all men could ever be. To us, He is the priest who makes the atoning sacrifice for us before God, bringing us to the Father, when previously we were not able to come to Him. As a warrior king, He brings all things subject to Him, will the battle against satan for us. Jesus is the prince of peace, teaching us to love one another and let peace reign on earth, but with a holy anger, He must get rid of sin, and deliver us from the grips of satan, and to do this, He exercises violence.

The anointed king of Yahweh is the Christ, who has been given all the power and authority, and has His foes under his feet. He is anointed for the purpose of ruling and conquering, by virtue of His obedience to Yahweh, when He came to earth to die a shameful death for us. He has constantly faced a battle, but the victory has already been given to Him. In explaining the scriptures to the apostles, Jesus made them understand that His mission had been prophesied, and the apostles knew then that the reference to a conspiracy referred to their Lord, having seen firsthand the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. All power has been given to the Son, and He exercises it till the end of time, so there shall be no escape for anyone who disobeys Him or submits to another authority (satan) because he himself is submitted to Christ.

1. Love and trustworthiness are the very nature of God and that was how He revealed Himself to the Israelites, He carried them out on eagle wings from the clasp of Pharaoh and watched over them whilst leading them to the place He had prepared for them. 2. God is merciful, loving, forgiving, patient, understanding, steadfast, always near to us, and will never leave us 3. Heb 8: 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more 2 Thess 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil 1 Cor 1:9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 1 John 4:10-11 Herein is <A name=36202x3>love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to http://' target="_blank">love one another. Roman 5: 8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

1. The faithfulness of God and His nearness to us. Having experienced some trying times where we realize that there is no where to go except to the Lord, we recall His faithfulness and how He has never let us down. We can therefore say with David that He is indeed faithful; we have tried and trusted that He never fails. He is near to us, when we need someone to lean on, He is there. When we need understanding, He is there. When we need comfort, He is there. When we need to be cleansed, He is there. Since He created us, He has never turned His eye away form us, always watching over us. 2. He made all things, and there is nothing that was made without Him. We are reminded that in all things we must praise Him, what better to do than to acknowledge Him, and the only way to acknowledge Him is to praise Him, otherwise all else we would do would be to ask, ask ask. But with praise, we are aware of His creative power in the world. 3. In All things, give thanks, for that is His will for us. Whenever I meet with people, I inject praise into my greeting, God is Good, and that is why we are alive. Everywhere, I must let people know that I am grateful to God for His love, and so everywhere, every situation, I say God be praised, Even when it is most difficult to say so!

1. He is forgiving, He is so compassionate that He cannot even remember that we have sinned, what manner of love is this? He is a King, can we ever imagine that a high ranked person such as Him would have so much concern for His little subjects? We are that important to Him, because He gave us His breadth. 2. The knowledge of God and what His very nature was like, how He wanted to relate to His people was the very essence of the Exodus. They had to go to a quiet place with Him, be there alone with Him, before they would be able to understand Him intimately 3. Limitless!! Complete forgiveness, to the extent that if we went to look for those sins, we would never find them again! And still loving us despite our sinful nature.

The Shepherd stays with the Sheep throughout. He does not leave them unattended, and in so doing, he provides everything we can ever think of, ever imagine: 1 Cor 2:9 "No http://' target="_blank">eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him." 1. He identifies with us and gives us His identity, we are no more orphans, because He is our Shepherd. 2. He makes sure that we have all that we need. 3. He gives us rest, not anywhere, but in a place of quietness and fruitful pastures 4. He refreshes our souls, ensuring that the calm of the still waters give us His peace 5. When we lie down to rest He restores us and everything we may have lost in the journey to how far that He has brought us. 6. He cleanses us so we can walk in the place where the righteous alone can walk, He actually leads us into those places, so we know that with Him, there is no condemnation, we are cleansed by the Blood. Because that was why He took on the name, Saviour, Redeemer, and for teh sake of this title, He will let us walk in that righteous place. 7. Even when we walk in the dark fearful places, He protects us, takes away our fears. He even gives us His weapons to comfort us 8. He provides a meal in abundance for us, welcoming us into that righteous place by annointing us, and He makes us settle to enjoy the feast because He has assured us that no one can touch us. In all this, after the meal, He assures us that we will live with Him forever, because for the sake of the Name, we have access to the Father's presence, His home, where He came to take us. We must go on that journey, and experince Him to get to the place He has prepared for us. And that journey is onlt worth taking if He, the Shepherd is with us!

David acknowledges that in order to really trust in the Lord, He needs to accept that he cannot understand everything done by God. When we start to look for logic in the things of God, we start to get haughty and proud, because we think we can analyse and understand everything that God does. But "who can understand the mind of God? Who can be His counselor" Is. 5: 14-19 and ff. Such people are already condemned, because the Lord hates a proud and haughty spirit. David surrenders every inclination to know the mind of God and simply submits to him, and it is only in humility that he can do this. We must have that humility of heart to surrender to God, only then will we find true peace. Stillness and quietness,these are what we need in the world today, when things happen which we cannot understand.

When we are humble, we become like little children, trusting, and that is the kind of relationship that pleases God, when we surrender all to Him, and believe in Him; "trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey" together with faith, our prayer touches the very heart of God, because we have trusted Him and we also believe that He can deliver us. whenever i pray and one of these is missing, I return from prayer feeling unfulfilled, because I know in my heart I have not been humble enough to trust and I havent believed enough to convince Him of my faith. I pray thinking that it is just a formality, that means i can do things on my own, so why do I need God then? Faith and Humility are necessary for us to be heard in His presence.

It is overwhelming when I stop to think about how God actually thinks, cares, plans for me:

The Psalmist understands that God is hope, God is love, God is mercy, and whatever we are going through, God is with us and will never leave us. That gives us a feling of hope, which we can express with praise. However much we moan, however tough the situation is, we must always remember waht the Word tells us, to make our requests with thanksgiving, knowing that He is a prayer answering God. Indeed, we all have been there before, when all was wrong, and all we wanted was to sit in our miseries and moan, but this psalm teaches me to remember the goodness of God, becasue He has always pulled through for me! when the please are desparate, we must remember that God is good, and in things we must give thanks, for that is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. a bible teacher once told me that faith meant that I had to judge God faithful, remember His faighfulness, and in asking, ask in faith, knowing that He has already been there, and will be there for me again, and that called for praise!

David had come to know the mercy and love of God, and knew he could apporach Him if his heart was truly repentant; "If you O LOrd, would mark our guilt, who would survive? But with you there is frgiveness, therefore you are to be revered...". He knew that, and we also, must know and accept that. Like David, we have come to know the power of the resurrection, the meaning of the Cross, the power and depth of God's inifinite mercy, in that whilst we were yet sinners, He died for us. Why? because He has loved us with an everlasting love. How gracious and merciful! That is why we dare approach Him; Our sins are numerous, we need to approach Him every time for forgiveness, truly, there is none rghteous, no, not one! If we dont accept His grace, His mercy, then we cannot approach Him. Isn't God good!

1. We are brought to the realisation that we actually have reasons to praise God: He is a great God indeed, He is King above all, All things, including us, belong to Him, without Him, we wouldnt have been created, He created us for Himself, we belong to Him, so we must praise Him. 2. Praise does not just mean shouting and making music, but realising His authority over us, submitting to that authority, and not questioning Him about what He does in our lives, because we acknowledge that He is good, He is mighty, and He desires the best for us, so why should we praise Him, then as we come out of His presence, we ignore His command? it means simply disobedience, and this grieves the heart of God, we are therefore to take the cue from the Israelites and be warned, that lip service to God is despicable to Him. 3. The reasons for praising Him still remain the same, we belong to Him, and He is wonderful, whether we feel it or not, so we conitnue to praise Him. PRAISE THE LORD!

This psalm teaches us that praise belongs to God, All must praise Him, because He is, because every good thing comes from Him, praise must be directed to Him, from everywhere and in all the ways that we can, through loud noise or in the quiet of our hearts, but praise Him we must. Praise must occur in the sanctuary, that is in God's Holy presence, and if we are the temples of God, then from within us praise must come forth. So we can praise Him wherever we find ourselves. We can praise him with anything and everything that we have, our mouths, our instruments, our hands clapping, our feet stamping, God will not care what cacophony we create, as long as praise is real and genuine from our hearts. It is the holiness and genuineness of our hearts that translate into the instruments, and if from our hearts, God does not mind if we praise Him off key! Everything that has breadth, as long as we are alive, whether the situation is good or bad, whether we are hurting, sick, joyful, in whatever situation that we are, as long as we have breath in our bodies, we must praise Him; the psalmist says "the dead do not praise the Lord" Ps. 115:17 The last verses make me realise that however bad things are, when I wake up in the morning and am counted among the living, then God be praised forever!! for He is good and His love endures forever.

I would love these psalms to be one of the first my kids would learn and understand, the challenge would be for we the adults to live these in the obedience of these words, we still go back to psalm 1, where we are cautioned about even walking in the way of sinners!! Relating to God and relating to man are the 2 most important guidelines given to us, How do we relate to our neighbors, our families, our church community? Be fair to your neighbor, don

We are human and can easily fall away. That is human nature, we need to be constantly reminded of the narrow way that we have to walk in, the distractions of the world are so many, that we can easily fall. Just as the beginning of the psalm suggests, the move away from the Lord is gradual, so that if we are not careful, we do not see it until we are on the other side; First, we are urged to meditate on the Word of God, instead of the World of Man, but we begin by walking in the way of the wicked, thinking that because we are saved, we can walk through without getting scathed. But before we realize it, we are actually stopping to listen to the ways of the world, so we find ourselves standing with the sinners, and then as the gradual corruption goes on, we actually sit with them to deliberate on the matters of the world. I love verses 2 and 3. We can really only stand firm in the world when we meditate on the Word of God. It is our lifeline, our peace our hope, and once we meditate on it, we find ourselves being nourished every time, our roots go deep, and when the tough times comes, we find that we are able to stand firm, that is how our leaves do not wither.

What we have learnt of the love of God is as in a famous song,

The psalmist can relate the forces of nature around him to his depression, they seem to reflect his depression, it is like everything around him reminds him of where he is now, at the bottom of the pit. If you like me, have been there before, the feeling is exactly as the psalmist describes it, at the lowest end of life, looking round, all is dark, and it sometimes looks like it is going to be like that forever. At this time, we remember the good times not with joy, but a longing of what we don

David knows what it means to be close to God, he has experiences to prove it, so he wants to experience this forever, and by saying he desires to dwell in God

The psalmist begins by commenting on the presence of God everywhere, and at first it seems to bother Him a bit that he can never hide from God, however, he goes on to experience the awesomeness of his creation by God and that now begins to fill him with an awe and wonder, and he begins to lighten up, and even to enjoy this fact, and he now sees the gain of being created by God, the uniqueness of his being, having being carved out specially, and never being out of sight of God. When he realizes the awesomeness of his being and the supremeness of God, it makes him realize that he is so little compared to God, and it brings him to the realization that he must be saved, to be able to draw close to God, so he asks again for God to change his heart.