August 7 Gen. 37:1-4, 12-28, Mt. 14:22-33
Walking on the water is to me a sign of walking over the powers of death and destruction of chaos and confusion.Impetuous Peter has a classic response. the people waiting on the other side of the lake are in deep water too. don;t be afraid. We have these odd church terms for architectural features such as the nave of the church. It comes the same root as navigate, referring to a boat. The church was long pictured to be a little ship. Sometimes it gets storm-tossed. Stepping out of the boat is a real issue for Peter and for us. Lord, save me. Excellent prayer. In part, the wood above our heads is to give us the sense of being in the hold of a ship.
Confusion continues to reign in the extended house of Abraham now to the great-grandchildren. Favoritism continues as the first son of the favored wife is now the favorite.The favorite son of Rachel now has a favorite son. Jealousy and envy now become new emblems of the household.They are unable to speak peaceably, or speak a word of peace and well-being, or even say hello in a civil tone.Recall that the narrator gives extra definition to the names of the brothers. I need to emphasize a translation issue. It is likely that Joseph did not tattle or issue a report against the brothers; it is more likely that they continue to bad mouth Joseph, as that is the way it reads in other OT accounts. I won;t hazard a guess as to why Joseph tells his dreams, he clearly has not learned ot interpret them, yet. Jacob only rebukes him when he interprets it as meaning that he too will fall under the sway of the son. The younger who stole a birthright and blessing does not want the same to apply to him. Notice the story here. One senses a battle for advantage even in the decision to kill Joseph, as they play a game of then reporting to the father. This is a family that will not learn that playing favorites can be deadly. This family will not learn to speak with each other in order to try to resolve an issue. Jacob saw forgiveness in his brother that he called the face of God, but the lesson has not been transmitted into this blended family of four different wives. Now recall Israel will be enslaved in Egypt in the very next book of the bile. Here the patriarchs plot to put one of their own into slavery and sell their own brother to relatives who themselves descended from the Egyptian slave girl Hagar who had a child by Abraham. They cannot even use the word brother any longer.They see thee dreamer, with that robe, and they lose all perspective. that TV show Big Love has nothing on the book of Genesis. This is 10 against 1. It may reflect on the troubles holding the tribes of Israel together. it could be that this story indicates that we bring family issues on to the public stage.
Walking on the water is to me a sign of walking over the powers of death and destruction of chaos and confusion.Impetuous Peter has a classic response. the people waiting on the other side of the lake are in deep water too. don;t be afraid. We have these odd church terms for architectural features such as the nave of the church. It comes the same root as navigate, referring to a boat. The church was long pictured to be a little ship. Sometimes it gets storm-tossed. Stepping out of the boat is a real issue for Peter and for us. Lord, save me. Excellent prayer. In part, the wood above our heads is to give us the sense of being in the hold of a ship.
Confusion continues to reign in the extended house of Abraham now to the great-grandchildren. Favoritism continues as the first son of the favored wife is now the favorite.The favorite son of Rachel now has a favorite son. Jealousy and envy now become new emblems of the household.They are unable to speak peaceably, or speak a word of peace and well-being, or even say hello in a civil tone.Recall that the narrator gives extra definition to the names of the brothers. I need to emphasize a translation issue. It is likely that Joseph did not tattle or issue a report against the brothers; it is more likely that they continue to bad mouth Joseph, as that is the way it reads in other OT accounts. I won;t hazard a guess as to why Joseph tells his dreams, he clearly has not learned ot interpret them, yet. Jacob only rebukes him when he interprets it as meaning that he too will fall under the sway of the son. The younger who stole a birthright and blessing does not want the same to apply to him. Notice the story here. One senses a battle for advantage even in the decision to kill Joseph, as they play a game of then reporting to the father. This is a family that will not learn that playing favorites can be deadly. This family will not learn to speak with each other in order to try to resolve an issue. Jacob saw forgiveness in his brother that he called the face of God, but the lesson has not been transmitted into this blended family of four different wives. Now recall Israel will be enslaved in Egypt in the very next book of the bile. Here the patriarchs plot to put one of their own into slavery and sell their own brother to relatives who themselves descended from the Egyptian slave girl Hagar who had a child by Abraham. They cannot even use the word brother any longer.They see thee dreamer, with that robe, and they lose all perspective. that TV show Big Love has nothing on the book of Genesis. This is 10 against 1. It may reflect on the troubles holding the tribes of Israel together. it could be that this story indicates that we bring family issues on to the public stage.
In this house, in the nave of the ship of faith, God does not play favorites.God continues to pay real regard to the dreamers. It used to be said that God protects widows and drunkards. maybe God watches out for the impetuous ones such as Peter who step out of the boat. Here in the security of being in the embrace of God, we can dare step out of the boat, knowing that we can be saved when we need it, and return to its security to do our work together.
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