Day 1: Genesis 1-30

My first observation in beginning this quest to read the whole Bible in 40 days is that it is going to be somewhat more challenging than I thought to keep up with the amount of reading each day. Because I'm reading so much - and reading relatively quickly - I won't be able to take notes or comment on every little thing that strikes me. Instead, I will have to focus on the "big" things - the things that stick in my mind after I'm done reading 30 chapters.

Today's thoughts:

Like Father, Like Son

A couple different times in the first 30 chapters of Genesis, Abraham gets himself in trouble by trying to pass his wife off as his sister. In each case, his wife ends up being taken into the royal palace. Both times, it is discovered that Sarah is really not Abraham's sister and the people involved are pretty incensed at Abraham. You would think that these stories would represent lessons passed down to Abraham's son, Isaac, right?

Apparently not, because shortly after marrying Rebekah, we find Isaac trying to pass her off as his sister - in one of the same places and to one of the same kings that Abraham had done with Sarah. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work...Isaac gets caught kissing on Rebekah and the king is mad once again. Thankfully, though, the stupidity didn't seem to carry past the second generation...

Hagar gets it right (Genesis 16:11-16)

The whole story of Hagar is somewhat distressing to me - Abraham's wife gets frustrated at being unable to have kids, so she "makes" (If Abraham was anything like a typical man, I'm guessing there wasn't much persuasion needed...) Abraham sleep with her servant in order to have a son, Ishmael. After Ishmael is born, though, Abraham's wife begins to treat both Hagar and Ishmael like crap. So Hagar runs away. And in Chapter 16, God encounters Hagar and encourages her to return to Abraham. Following this encounter, Hagar uses a new name - el-Roi - to refer to God. The New Living Translation translates this name as "The God who sees me." What an awesome name - Hagar knew that God had not just seen her run away, but that he had seen her distress. God was - and is - "the God who sees me." Of all the names of God - YHWH, elohim, el-shaddai, adonai, etc. - I think el-Roi is the one I like best.

God cares for the unloved (Genesis 29:31)

The assumption is sometimes made that the Old Testament represents and reveals the militant God - the God who fights and who commands his people to go to war and utterly annihilate their enemies - while the New Testament represents and reveals the God of love. Read the first 30 chapters of Genesis, though, and you'll find yourself encountering a God who shows great concern for the unloved. I have already mentioned Hagar, who was abused and mistreated by Sarah and Abraham, but comforted, encouraged and blessed by God - who promises to provide for her needs and to bless her son Ishmael.

Then, in Jacob's story, we meet Leah. Leah, whose father tricks Jacob into marrying her even though Jacob neither loves Leah nor wants her as his wife. Leah, who is second to her younger sister Rachel in nearly every department. Leah, who is described in 29:31 as "unloved." God sees that Leah is unloved and does something about it - he makes Leah fertile and Rachel barren. Leah will bear Jacob children (eventually, so will Rachel, but Leah would bear sooner and also bear more) and that ability to bear children will be a reason for Jacob to love Leah.

It doesn't say how well it worked - in fact, if you read on, it doesn't seem to accomplish anything other than to spark one of the strangest and most absurd examples of sibling rivalry I've ever seen. Regardless of the outcome, though - in the stories of Hagar & Leah - we discover a God who passionately cares about the outcast and the unloved.

More tomorrow...