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.
Where did he come from?
by Shane Altmann
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So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak (Genesis 32:24).
Read Genesis 32:22–32
Today’s Bible reading is a critical and pivotal moment in both biblical and world history – the very beginnings of the creation of Israel. You shall be called Israel because you have struggled with God and humanity and won! I mean, you don’t have to scratch very deep to see the powerful significance in those words, still many thousands of years later.
But I think it is worth reflecting on verse 24, highlighted above. Jacob has sent his wives, his sons and ultimately his possessions across the river, and is alone. And then a bloke turns up for a fight.
Ex nihilo, out of nowhere.
For all intents and purposes, this guy just arrives. I’m channelling Jesus-in-the-locked-room vibes from yesterday’s devotion. Once again, God is at work, actively working for the world and moving things forward. Unlooked for, lining the ducks up.
As we consider Jacob’s desperation here, it is easy to forget this is yet another story of God at work in the world. Yep, Jacob wrestles with this ‘man’, perhaps to stop him from crossing the river and getting at his unprotected wives, sons and stuff, but it is God who turns up for the fight. It is God who stays in the game with Jacob until the point of his desperation. It is God who touches Jacob’s hip and stops the fight. Ultimately, it is God who blesses Jacob, renames him and sets history on its course to the ultimate work of Jesus.
Ex nihilo, out of nowhere.
When everything is on the line, our wives, our sons, our goods, when we stand alone and vulnerable, God turns up.
And he chooses the underdog once again, the younger son, the sneaky one who tricked his brother, the stubborn one who won’t let go. That’s how God rolls. He calls Abraham out of Ur, Israel out of the desert, Joseph the spoiled son, Moses the speech-impaired and exiled old shepherd, anoints David the boy, sends Jesus, the baby in a manger.
God’s got a type. You and me. Ordinary, everyday people who he draws to himself through his gracious love.
Ex nihilo, out of nowhere.
But like Jacob, he is taking us somewhere.
God, thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for always showing up for us, and you are always there, ready, out of nowhere, for us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, empower and embolden us to hang on to you stubbornly, like Jacob. Forgive us for when we get it wrong and bless us as we go. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Shane Altmann is the principal of Faith Lutheran College Redlands in Queensland and has served in education for more than 35 years. Married to Monica and father of two children, Harry and Zoe, Shane has learnt that he is largely helpless without the love and support of the people with whom he lives and works. A pilgrim of multiple Caminos de Santiago, a Penrith Panthers tragic and a restorer of old stuff, Shane loves a project and, when he is able, fills his days tinkering with something.
Doubting Thomas or certain Jesus?
by Shane Altmann
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On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ (John 20:19)
Read John 20:19–31
There is so much cool stuff in this Bible passage, the well-known ‘doubting Thomas’ story. So much to wonder about.
- Jesus appears in a locked room. Can our post-resurrection body move differently through space and time like Jesus’?
- Jesus showed the marks of his death on his hands and his side. Will our post-resurrection body still have its scars and scratches like Jesus?
- Jesus performed many other miracles that were not even recorded. What were those extra miracles and signs?
I’m looking forward to finding out one day. But seriously, kind of, who cares? It is what this passage gives me certainty about that I love. Let’s focus on Jesus throughout the passage, on Jesus’ actions.
- Jesus came and stood among them.
- Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you’, twice.
- Jesus said, ‘I am sending you …’
- Jesus breathed on them and filled them with the Holy Spirit.
- Jesus gave them the authority to forgive sins.
- Jesus knew Thomas’ doubts.
- Jesus invited Thomas to have his doubts confirmed.
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. The disciples are largely passive in this story. Locked away, hanging out together. They aren’t looking for Jesus, they aren’t inquiring about what to do next, and they haven’t asked for or invited the Holy Spirit. Again, the list goes on. The disciples just exist. And Jesus does the work.
It’s always God’s work.
Our amazing God of Love is constantly engaged in his gracious movement towards us, towards humanity, towards the world. Even then, even now. Like the disciples, we are not responsible for the fact that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives – Jesus is.
Like the disciples, we cannot transport ourselves to where Jesus is, but he comes to us. Even in our locked rooms, he breaks through our feeble barriers to be with us, to bring us peace, to bless us with the work that lies before us. And in response, Thomas gives us the words, we cry, ‘My Lord and my God!’
Hallelujah.
Thank you, Jesus, for breaking into our lives unexpectedly and miraculously. Thank you for your gracious and redeeming work that makes us right with you. Thank you for your faithfulness towards us. Fill us again with your Holy Spirit and bless us as we gratefully attend to the important stuff you have placed before us this day. Amen.
Shane Altmann is the principal of Faith Lutheran College Redlands in Queensland and has served in education for more than 35 years. Married to Monica and father of two children, Harry and Zoe, Shane has learnt that he is largely helpless without the love and support of the people with whom he lives and works. A pilgrim of multiple Caminos de Santiago, a Penrith Panthers tragic and a restorer of old stuff, Shane loves a project and, when he is able, fills his days tinkering with something.
Security in God
by Faye Schmidt
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You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay (Psalm 16:10).
Read Psalm 16
If anyone ever needed a safe place, it was David. He spent half his life on the run from people who wanted to kill him. First, it was King Saul, then foreign kings and leaders and even his own son Absalom. David knew his vulnerability, but he also had his safe house: God. God was David’s refuge, his safe place.
David says he has a beautiful inheritance awaiting him, and it’s safe because it’s not held in an investment bank, but by God himself. So, what is this inheritance? What David is talking about is the priceless inheritance God has reserved for his children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay (1 Peter 1:4).
At the end of his psalm, David makes an incredible statement. He says in verse 10, ‘You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay’. He is prophesying about someone else. Who is the faithful one who has seen no decay? David is, of course, speaking of the Messiah who was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. He was resurrected on the third day and is in heaven at the right hand of God.
Jesus is our refuge, he’s our inheritance, and we are heirs of all that belongs to him and only because of him. It is all made possible through Jesus. We can be fully secure, not in our own ability or in anything this world can offer us, but in what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross of Calvary. He is all that we need. He is our refuge. He is our inheritance. He is our hope.
Almighty God, you are my refuge and strength. Hold me always secure in your love and grace. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.