by Pastor Tim Klein
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Read Genesis 29:1–20
In yesterday’s devotion, in Genesis 28:2,3, Jacob’s father Isaac sends him on his way with instructions and a blessing:
Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.
So much for ‘the best-laid plans of mice and men’ (thank you, Robert Burns). Those plans soon went astray. With some significant manipulation (dare we say ‘skullduggery and trickery’) by Laban, not one, but two wives – both the daughters of Laban – were married to Jacob. But God’s plan was still at work. Fulfilment of the blessing took more than one wife; it took both wives and two maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah (whom Jacob also married), to produce Jacob’s 12 sons, the founding fathers of the tribes of Israel.
It is amazing how God persists with his plan. It’s the big salvation plan. One of the sons is Judah – and his house is the house of Israel from which Jesus came.
If you are interested in the story, keep reading Genesis for the extraordinary roll-out of God’s saving plan all those generations ago.
Is there some encouragement in this for you and me? If you read on, you will discover the characters of the 12 leaders of the tribes of Israel. They were many and varied, and God had something to say and do through each of their lives.
You may find a direct comparison to your life among them. However, in general terms, you will see the miracle of how the Lord works through different people, in good and bad situations, always working for the good of his people and the sake of his kingdom.
By all means, we lay our plans. But most of all, we trust the Lord to guide us through them all.
Lord: you must laugh sometimes at the plans we make. Yet despite us, you remain working in and through us. Please continue to give us the confidence to boldly step ahead in faith, trusting in you, knowing that you are there with us, working your good for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.
Tim has served as a pastor for more than 30 years in Australia and New Zealand. He plans to retire on 12 January in 2025. Husband to his wife Joy, father of three and grandfather of more than 10, Tim says he is living in hope. He enjoys gardening (especially his orchard of more than 60 trees, succulents and flowering plants), making music (he loves to sing), beekeeping and taking photos.
The question of evil forces
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him (1 Samuel 16:14).
Read 1 Samuel 16:14 – 17:11
You may struggle with reading this verse. I did and had to do quite a bit of research to better understand it. Does God really send evil spirits to torment people?
When we first meet Saul and he is anointed as king, the Bible says that ‘… the Spirit of God came powerfully upon [Saul] …’ (1 Samuel 10:10). But as we read yesterday, Saul was not prepared to follow God’s leading in fulfilling his role as king of Israel.
So, God selected a new king, David, and took his Spirit back from Saul. Although God rejected Saul as king, he didn’t reject Saul as a person and kept working in Saul’s life to draw him back to the relationship God wanted to have with Saul. Since God’s Spirit was no longer living in Saul, he was open to being ‘tormented’ by evil forces. It wasn’t that God was calling these evil forces to torment Saul; it was something these evil forces wanted to do anyway. It was that God temporarily removed some of his protection from Saul to help him understand that when we reject God’s purposes for us, the alternative is not a nice place to experience. As we surrender our lives to God, we live under his protection against the powers of evil.
When we go further in our passage for today, we read, ‘Whenever the [evil] spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him’ (1 Samuel 16:23). God had not rejected Saul as a person. God’s Spirit was in David, and when David came to Saul when he was being ‘tormented’, the Holy Spirit in David would drive the evil powers away and bring relief to Saul.
I personally take from this that we should see God working in all situations in our lives to draw us closer to him. When we observe evil in our lives and in the lives of those around us, we should not view this as punishment from God. Instead, we should open our hearts and lives to what God is doing and trust in his promise to be with us wherever he leads us.
I was struggling with a personal issue, something in my life that I knew God was not happy with, but which I seemed unable to deal with alone. Of course, I prayed about it and gave it over to God. Seemingly independently, my life was impacted by external issues that consumed much of my time, and I had to do things I knew I had to do but didn’t enjoy. Sometime later, I realised that the personal issue had lost its hold over me. God knows intimately how we tick and how best to bring about the changes he wants to happen. We just need to keep trusting in his promise that he will never stop loving us.
Awesome and loving Heavenly Father, thank you for the way you are working in my life to change me into the person you want me to be. Please help me to grow in trusting your love so that I can fearlessly follow where you are leading me. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Healing leading to a changed life
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice (Luke 17:15).
Read Luke 17:11–19
Elias lived in Palestine about 2,000 years ago. You could say his life was going quite well. He had a happy family, with a wife and several children who were performing well in school. His grocery store was doing well, and he had plans to expand it. He believed in working hard and even pushing the boundaries of ethics just a little to get ahead. Whenever he wasn’t too busy, he would try to take his family to the synagogue on the Sabbath.
Then, one day, he was diagnosed with an infectious skin disease. This required him to be expelled from the community so that he wouldn’t infect others. What would happen to his grocery store now? Who would look after his family? Where would he live? What would he live on? Eventually, he found a group of men in the same situation and was invited to join them. They were an interesting group of men from diverse religious, political and social backgrounds; however, they were bonded together through their common sufferings.
Then they heard about an itinerant Jewish rabbi travelling around the countryside preaching and healing people. They went as a group to catch him while he was travelling near them and asked to be healed of their infectious skin disease. The rabbi advised them to visit the priest for a certificate that they had been healed, which was surprising since they hadn’t yet been healed, but they went anyway. But on the way, they found that all evidence of their infection had vanished. Elias was so thankful that he couldn’t wait to rush home to his family and his grocery store. He could now return to the life he had before and keep building up his business.
However, one of the members of this ragtag group of infectious men – a foreigner, in fact – was so intrigued by this Jewish rabbi that he went back not only to say thanks but also to find out more of what he was teaching. A new life of possibilities was opening up for him.
If we think about it, we are like this ragtag group of infectious people, deserving to be expelled from God’s family due to the very contagious disease of sin that we suffer from. Now that we have received our healing from this same itinerant Jewish rabbi, what will our response be? Will we return to living for ourselves, or will we leave our old lives behind and follow this itinerant Jewish rabbi, accepting his invitation to be part of his own ragtag group of people now motivated by his love, grace and mercy for all people?
Heavenly brother, Jesus, like the Samaritan in today’s reading, I want to say thank you for the healing you have given me. I also want to follow where you want to lead me as one of your ragtag group of followers. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, working in my life to achieve this. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Delight in God’s great works
by Janette Lange
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Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them (Psalm 111:2).
Read Psalm 111
When we think of people who study the works of the Lord, scientists might come to mind. Although many today might not acknowledge God as the creating force, they nevertheless marvel at our world and delight in his works as they try to learn more about them. However, many scientists are Christians, and I am sure their scientific studies only serve to deepen their awe and reverence for our Creator God.
But we don’t need to understand the mechanics or the science of it to delight in a beautiful sunset or to enjoy birdsong as a new day dawns. To rejoice in rain falling over parched paddocks. The majesty of snow-capped mountains and clear, running streams. The scent and beauty of the Australian bush. The amazing colours and immensity of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the surrounding country. Rainforests, cane fields, coral reefs, jarrah forests, station country and windswept, sandy beaches – these all speak to me of God’s great works. What is it for you?
The beauty and intricacy of our world give us an insight into the artistry, creativity, intelligence and sheer brilliance of our loving Creator God. It clearly demonstrates his care and love for us, his children. The earth supplies us with what we need to sustain our day-to-day needs. It provides us with employment and recreation. But God hasn’t given us a monochrome functional response to our needs. God has chosen to create a beautiful, amazing and awe-inspiring world for our enjoyment and our delight.
Praise God for his great work of creation. Drink it in, delight in it because this is one of God’s good gifts to you. Let it remind you of his unwavering, loving care for you and move you to praise him with all your heart.
And as others hear us acknowledge God for the beauty of his creation, it may open the door to conversations with them about God’s other great works: the incarnation of Christ, his saving grace, his redemption of us and his loving provision for us every day.
Wonderful Creator, thank you for your beautiful gift of creation that sustains and delights us. Help us to care for the earth and its creatures and to lovingly protect all human life. We thank you for sending Christ to live among us and for his saving work on the cross. Amen.
Janette is a member of Glynde Zion congregation, a vibrant multicultural faith community in suburban Adelaide. She works as an archivist and translator of German historical documents. In her free time, Janette enjoys reading, solving cryptic crosswords, learning languages, travelling, researching family history and relaxing in her garden. Thanks to her husband’s influence, she now enjoys watching Formula 1 and golf.