Old Testament / Genesis

  • A Purified Household

    Genesis 35:2–4

    Whom do you love above all else? Is it a child or a spouse? Maybe it is not a person but a job or a hobby? We must never think ourselves immune to the temptation to love something else more ...Read More

  • Jacob’s True Calling

    Genesis 35:1

    Matthew Henry also comments: “As many as God loves he will remind of neglected duties, one way or another, by conscience or by providences.” The Holy Spirit will not let us forget the vows we have made to serve Him ...Read More

  • Grace and Forgiveness

    Genesis 1:27

    When Paul exhorts women to train women, and by implication, men to train men (Tit. 2:1–8), he is not speaking of doctrinal matters as if they are unconnected from everyday life. God wants godly men to teach and ...Read More

  • Two Different Responses

    Genesis 34:30–31

    We are greatly encouraged that the Lord is true to His word even when His people sin. If His blessings were based ultimately on our faithfulness, we would be totally lost. Still, while God was faithful despite Jacob’s unfaithfulness ...Read More

  • Simeon and Levi Attack

    Genesis 34:25–29

    The Lord’s use of Israel to pour out His wrath on the inhabitants of Canaan was a case unique to that particular time in the history of God’s people. As Paul tells us in Romans 12:19, God ...Read More

  • A City Is Circumcised

    Genesis 34:18–24

    First John 2:15b warns us: “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Dinah’s friendliness with the ways of the Canaanite women and widespread intermarriage, had it happened, both warn us against ...Read More

  • Profaning a Holy Sign

    Genesis 34:13–17

    The Lord does not take the misuse of His signs and seals lightly. In fact, Paul says those who misuse the sacraments, especially the Lord’s Supper, may end up dead (1 Cor. 11:29–30). Therefore, let us not ...Read More

  • Hamor’s Dubious Offer

    Genesis 34:8–12

    There are all sorts of good things promised to us by the Lord, and there are just as many wrong ways to go about obtaining them. We must wait patiently for God to bring these good things to us. This ...Read More

  • Jacob’s Sin of Omission

    Genesis 34:5–7

    Dr. R.C. Sproul writes, “When we sin against God, we do violence to his holiness. When we sin against our neighbor, we violate his or her humanity” (Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, p. 144). Transgression is not only ...Read More

  • Dinah’s Humiliation

    Genesis 34:1–4

    John Calvin writes in his commentary that Shechem, on the one hand, “loved her [Dinah] as a wife; and did not even object to be circumcised that he might have her.” Nevertheless, the “fervor of lust had so prevailed, that ...Read More

  • Jacob Settles in Shechem

    Genesis 33:18–20

    Jacob has many faults, but he is committed to serving the Lord. He does set up a place of worship as soon as he enters Canaan, thereby showing his commitment to make God the center of his home. It is ...Read More

  • A Parting Of Ways

    Genesis 33:12–17

    Our struggle to be sanctified can leave us discouraged at times, but we should not lose heart, for the Lord will indeed make us holy (Rev. 19:6–8). As long as we are, by faith, making use of the ...Read More

  • Reconciled Brothers

    Genesis 33:4–11

    Jesus said that all people would know His disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). The most tangible expression of this love is our forgiveness of others. If pagans like Esau can forgive, our readiness to pardon ...Read More

  • A New Man

    Genesis 33:1–3

    As we will see, Esau too has been blessed (33:9), and Jacob remains God’s chosen man. Jacob further shows his reliance on the Father and fidelity to His ways by acknowledging his sinful theft of the paternal blessing ...Read More

  • Jacob’s Deliverance

    Genesis 32:29–32

    John Calvin comments on Jacob’s wrestling with the Lord, saying, “This passage teaches us always to expect the blessing of God, although we may have experienced his presence to be harsh and grievous, even to the disjointing of our ...Read More