Personal Devotions
Notes from Mark's personal Bible reading and meditation
With a goal to apply one truth from each day's reading to my life that day
Nov 30, 2023, 12:55 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 37-40
Meditation Verses: 39:10-14
Thought
Surely the other men of the household, the other slaves, knew what was going on. They surely had seen and heard what Potiphar's wife was doing to Joseph. But what could they do? As slaves they couldn't argue with their master's wife. Joseph couldn't defend himself and accuse his master's wife of lying and discredit her by saying she was stalking him! He had no standing as a slave, no defense against the woman's accusation.
Nov 29, 2023, 12:56 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 33-36
Meditation Verses: 34:2-4
Thought
This appears to be the culture in Canaan and beyond: Take the girl you want, then negotiate with the father (or brother). It happened to Abraham twice, Isaac was warned about the same thing possibly happening, and now Shechem does it to Dinah. Abraham was afraid of the wrong thing, though in truth, if this is how they "take" a wife, then maybe he was right to expect someone to kill him to take his wife! Abraham, on the other hand, sent a servant to negotiate with his family for a wife, not to take one by force, then negotiate a bride price.
Nov 27, 2023, 12:57 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 29-32
Meditation Verses: 31:11-13
Thought
If it ever occurs to Jacob to leave, he didn't do it, not until the Lord tells him to. Though he is oppressed by his uncle, he keeps his word to serve, even though there was no time limit on the service, and even though Laban keeps changing the terms of his wages. But God sees what is happening to Jacob, and prospers Jacob no matter what Laban says. And finally, after six years of it, God tells Jacob to return home. Only then does Jacob leave.
Nov 26, 2023, 12:59 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 25-28
Meditation Verses: 27:1-2
Thought
Isaac had to be at least eighty, and he would live at least another twenty years, the time it took for Jacob to pay his debts to Laban and return. He had gone blind and felt his age, and so decided to prepare for his death by blessing his sons. His concern was premature, though not a big deal. He didn't have to wait until shortly before his death before blessing his firstborn.
Nov 24, 2023, 1:00 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 21-24
Meditation Verses: 21:12-14
Thought
Abraham doesn't want to give up Ishmael, but Ishmael is not the son of the promise, so God tells Abraham to send him away. God promises to take care of Ishmael and multiply him, but he must go. And Abraham, true to form, complies first thing the next morning. At that point, their relationship seems all but broken. Ishmael returns to bury Abraham with Isaac, but there is no further recorded communication between the two, though they live fairly near each other.
Nov 23, 2023, 1:01 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 17-20
Meditation Verses: 18:32-33
Thought
Sodom and Gomorrah are exceedingly wicked; complaints about them have reached heaven. People want justice and God is sending messengers to confirm the complaints. They stop at Abraham's place and God explains what He's about to do. Abraham, perhaps thinking specifically of his nephew, begins to ask if God would sweep away the righteous with the wicked. He doesn't get down far enough, but stops at ten. If there are ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, God will not destroy them.
Nov 22, 2023, 1:02 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 13-16
Meditation Verses: 13:8-10
Thought
Lot was far better off remaining with Abram, though he didn't know that yet. But when he separated from Abram, he chose the river valley because it looked so good for supporting his flocks. He didn't seem concerned that it was near Sodom, which already had its awful reputation. After he moved to the valley, he gradually moved his tents near to the city, unto he moved into the city. He didn't take his own capture and rescue as a warning to get clear of that place, but settled all the more in it.
Nov 21, 2023, 1:04 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 9-12
Meditation Verses: 12:14-16
Thought
By Joseph's day, the language of the Israelites and Egyptians was different enough to require a translator. The languages were changed at Babel, before Abram was born, and Abram was from another family, whose language likely was different from the Egyptians. By this point there might have been a common trade language, or Abram may have learned some local languages, but how much of this happened because of a hindrance in communication.
Nov 20, 2023, 1:05 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 5-8
Meditation Verse: 8:21
Thought
Though God destroyed all men except Noah and his family, He didn't eradicate the wickedness in men's hearts. He acknowledges here that the intent of man's heart remains evil from his youth. So the flood didn't fix man, but it reset man's influence over the earth, it wiped the earth clean of all his violence, and it displayed God's power to punish mankind, and the limit of His tolerance of sinfulness.
Nov 19, 2023, 1:06 AM
Passage Read: Genesis 1-4
Meditation Verse: 4:9
Thought
Adam and Eve hid from the Lord, but when confronted, they confessed what had happened. People like to say they shifted blame, but they told the truth about what happened, which is useful if someone wants to identify the steps that led to sin so as to avoid it in the future. But Cain, when confronted, lied outright to the Lord! There was no explanation, no excuse, no justification, just outright lie, "I don't know."