RPG Adults
WORKS OF THE FLESH
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Genesis 34-35
Psalm 13
I thank Thee, Father,
for saving my soul.
WORKS OF THE FLESH
In Genesis 34 and 35, the spotlight focuses on the children of Jacob during the first few years of their return to the land. Remember that they were as strangers in a strange country, among alien people. There were no Bibles, no churches or pastors or Sunday School teachers to instruct them in the faith. What little knowledge they had of God would have come from Jacob, their father. There is no evidence that Jacob had taught them the worship and fear of God. Jacob’s own example at home, with free access to four women, could not have set for the children a high moral standard.
We are therefore not unduly surprised with the children’s conduct: Dinah’s seduction by a heathen prince, Reuben’s incest with his father’s concubine, and in a later chapter, Judah’s incest with his daughter-in-law. Most shocking and contemptible were the treachery of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, and their murder of the Shechemites in cold blood. It seems more than pure coincidences that all these five children belonged to one mother, Leah.
In spite of the multitude of their transgressions, God did not cast them off, but in grace He continued to honour His covenant promise with Jacob. For Jacob and his sons, God had many lessons for them to learn so as to equip them to be inheritors of the covenant blessings. Their works of the flesh must be replaced by the fruit of the Spirit. For this great transformation to be possible, Jacob had to return to God and His House, together with his sons, and establish their family altar. “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9).
THOUGHT: “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Ps 103:10)
PRAYER: I thank Thee, Father, for being patient with me.