Promise 86 Gen. 38:10

Gen. 38:10 - "But what he (Onan) did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also." I'm not sure what was worse what Onan did, to rebel against what his father asked him to do or to waste the seed that would give life. I think both are equally bad. Onan dishonored both his earthly father and his heavenly one. It's God's choice whether to give life or take it. Onan purposefully denied Tamar children because he was selfish, this also hindered God's promise to Jacob that his descendants would be many. Anytime we knowingly fight against what God has promised and go against His plan there are consequences. God is not One you want to mess with and knowingly make mad. Onan withheld life and so did God by taking his.

Promise 85 Gen. 38:7

Gen. 38:7 "But Er, Judah's first born, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life." This isn't the first time we read of people being"evil" in the sight of God and then death followed. Remember the flood? Sodom and Gomorah? Generational seeds of badness have been planted among Israel's kids, the very fact that his sons had considered killing their own brother was a big indication. Even though Judah thought to spare his brother from death, it was still his idea to sell Joseph off as a slave. Even though God had a plan for that, Judah still carried out the action that brought pain to his father which resulted in years of sorrow as Israel mourned. But God's plan was not for Er, Judah's eldest to do wrong. The word doesn't specify what he did, but he was "evil" in God's sight and therefore killed him. Does it go back to the blessing over Jacob that God would be with him? It's God's choice to give and to take them away too. God promised that Jacob would multiply into a great nation, yet His intent isn't to raise up a great nation of evil men, so He wont allow it. All those living outside of the covenant with God will not be able to inherit fruits of the covenant. God still wants to bless Israel, having evil grandchildren will not be a blessing, so God protects the blessing. He will protect the blessings He has given to us as well.

Promise 84 Gen. 36:24

Gen. 36:24 - "These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah - he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon." This is another one of those random verses that stick out from the norm within its context. Here the list of the descendants of Esau, now Edom, is being read out, or stated, then suddenly Anah is mentioned as the one who found the hot springs, in the wilderness. There wasn't a mention of "and God appeared" or an angel of the Lord showing up, but "he is the Anah who found the hot springs.", as if we were all supposed to know the place and say "awe, yeah, that guy!" Finding those springs must've been important. The Springs must've been significant to get special recognition, or is it that "Anah" is a common name like "John" and the Lord wanted him to be identified for which Anah it is? Regardless, whatever we do does not go unnoticed by the Lord. He notices our achievements and those things we are associated with. He wants us to know that He is right there with us in the mundane hour too, whether that be while pasturing our Father's donkeys or inputting numerical data into a computer, He is with you and with me, nothing goes unnoticed because He cares, He watches us and loves us. Thank you Lord!

Promise 83 Gen. 35:11

Gen. 35:11 - "God also said to him, I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you." God states to Jacob, now Israel, who He is; He says, "I am God Almighty" meaning, there is "no one or nothing greater than Me, nothing too powerful, no army stronger, no situation too complicated, I can make things happen." So when He tells Israel to go, be fruitful and multiply He isn't telling him to do it in his own strength. God is telling Jacob what He is going to do in him and through him. Because He is God - who makes things happen. What do you want multiplied in your life today? He is God Almighty, trust Him with your request and desire and even more radical, trust Him with your life and see what He multiplies in it that is beyond what you can ever hope or imagine.

Promise 82 Gen. 35:9

Gen. 35:9 - "Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him." God loved Jacob, He pursued him. I'm glad that the scripture doesn't give the details of Jacob's daily spirituality. I love it that so many times it just says, "and the Lord appeared to him", because if there were more detail, then people may think that they need to copy Jacob, do what he does and that would be the key that unlocks God's appearance. Too many people already believe that there is some formula out there to earning God's affections, that is so wrong. God loves Jacob simply because, he is Jacob. Just like He loves you and me simply because of who we are. There are no formulas. Not only does He love us, He loves to bless us. He just showed up and blessed Jacob. He does that for us too. Thank you Lord!

Promise 81 Gen. 35:1,5

Gen. 35:1,5 - "Then God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and live there....' As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob." Once again we see where God "should have" or we would "think" it would be the character of God, let the natural consequences for bad behaviour happen (let Haman's people kill or attack Simeon and Levi for killing the men) but He doesn't. God shows up once again to Jacob and tells him to move his camp to Bethel and to stake that land for God by putting up an alter. After doing some house cleaning they took off. Now this is the fun part, as they were passing through the land, even though they were few in number, those all around them were terrified so they didn't pursue them. What is it that caused this terror? It doesn't say, but I would imagine that they saw a great army surrounding Jacob's lot. They were walking in the center of what God asked them to do therefore they were also walking under God's protection. God wont lead us into a snare, He is our protector. He also does not act as we believe He should, even though those men deserved death for killing so many people, God has his own plans for them.

Promise 80 Gen. 33:10

Gen. 33:10 - "Jacob said, 'No, please, if now I have found favour in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God and you have received me favourably." Jacob expected Esau to treat him unfavourably but the opposite was true, his brother hugged and kissed him in welcome. Esau demonstrated grace and love for his brother. Jacob knew that his brother was acting in this way only because God was working through Esau. God is a gracious, loving God. He also puts those qualities in us. They are in there to be used and to pour out onto others. Others will see God's face as well when we act out of His grace and love. Show someone the face of God today!