City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

²⁹ When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰ “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother to me so that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”

³⁵ Now it came about, as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, every man’s bag of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ And their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” ³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” ³⁸ But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

Genesis 42:29-38

[The LORD] said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Genesis 22:2

²¹ When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was brutish and ignorant;
    I was like a beast toward you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you hold my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will receive me to glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:21-26

Reflection

“All of this is against me!” Famine. Loss of a beloved son. Another unjustly held captive. And the price of rescue is to give up yet another son to the mercy of an eccentric foreign ruler. Jacob’s frustration adds up. To add salt to the wound, Reuben believes that even more death will be the remedy to the problem. Jacob will have none of it. He will not risk losing the last of his favored sons, even if it leads to the rescue of Simeon and an abundant supply of grain to save his whole family. Instead, Simeon languishes down in a dungeon and the whole family risks starvation so that Jacob is spared the potential of “going down to Sheol [meaning death, or grave] in sorrow”.

This section’s primary theme is Jacob’s inability to recognize God’s blessing on him and his family due to his immediate perception of the circumstances. However, we see that God is orchestrating a greater blessing and deliverance for him and for the entire world. Just as God told Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, to be willing to sacrifice Jacob’s father, Isaac, now Jacob is forced to reckon whether he puts his delight and hope in God or in the life of his cherished offspring.

Application

This is not an easy application. The ability to trust God, despite our circumstances, comes only when we learn to love God at the expense of everything else. For many, this comes at a heavy price. Illness, death, broken relationships, pain, barrenness, singleness, tragedy, poverty, war, and the list goes on. But if we allow it, God will redeem our pain, refining our character and enabling us to properly experience the fullness of His love. When we have Him, we lack nothing (Psalm 23:1).

Today, make a concerted effort to meet with God today in prayer. Specifically, consider with Him what your deepest burden is and ask Him to make clear how you can honor Him as you let Him carry it with you.

Prayer

Dear Father, help me to recognize the blessing of Your faithful love for me, even when I struggle to discern it. Renew my confidence in the marvelous redemptions that You are writing into my story. Let me always seek Your counsel and declare Your praise when everything seems against me.

For You are the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

Amen.