THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

February 5, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I've been reading through Genesis for the past several days. Right now I'm reading about Jacob. Several months ago, I taught a Bible study on Joseph and began with Abraham. As I had studied, I was struck by a pattern beginning with Abraham, that trended down through his descendants.

When a famine struck the land of Canaan, Abraham was forced to go to Egypt. You can probably see the connection there: when a famine came upon the land many years later, Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt, where Joseph was second in command to Pharaoh. Because of Joseph listening to God, Egypt had saved enough food to sustain them during the seven years of famine. But this was also part of God's plan for His chosen people.

Aside from that, there is something else that transpired, that isn't quite so positive. When Abraham and Sarah reached the borders of Egypt, Abraham told her, "Look, you are a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife. Let's kill him; then we can have her!' So please tell them you are my sister."

So that's what Sarah did. And honestly, she was Abraham's half-sister. They shared the same father, but had different mothers. (Genesis 20:12) So he didn't 'really' tell a lie; but his intent was to deceive.

Sure enough, the Egyptians noticed Sarah's beauty! But God sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household, because of Sarah. Pharaoh had Abraham brought in and demanded to know why he hadn't told him that she was his wife. They were sent out of Egypt.

But Abraham didn't learn his lesson! Years later, he once again introduced Sarah as his sister. King Abimelech was given a dream where God revealed the truth to him. Again, Abraham was brought before the king and was asked, "What have you done to me?!"

Time passes, Abraham and Sarah's son, Isaac, grows up and marries Rebekah. Again, a severe famine struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. God appeared to Isaac and told him to not go to Egypt, but to stay in Gerar, where Abimelech was king.

But when the men asked Isaac about his wife, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to say that she was his wife, thinking that they would kill him to get her, because she was so beautiful. Sound familiar?!

Only when Isaac said it, it was a complete lie. Rebekah wasn't his sister or half-sister. He tried to deceive, just as his own father had, only there was no truth to his statement.

Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons names Jacob and Esau. That spirit of deception steadily grew from one generation to the next. Esau was the oldest, so was to inherit the birthright and the blessing of the father. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob in exchange for a bowl of stew.

But then later, Rebekah helped Jacob to deceive his father, in order to receive the blessing that rightly belonged to Esau.

Later, the deceiver is the one who is deceived! Jacob goes to his Uncle Laban's to find a wife. He works for seven years in order to marry Rachel, but on his wedding night, Laban sends his oldest daughter, Leah, in to Jacob. A week later, Rachel is given, also, given to Jacob as a wife, but he has to work an additional seven years for her.

When you follow the story, you then see where Jacob's sons lied to him when they sold Joseph to a caravan of traders; telling him that he had been killed.

With each generation, it seems as if the deception grew worse and worse. It could be argued that in reality, Abraham was telling the truth when he told the Pharaoh and then King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. So he wasn't really lying.... he was just being deceptive in order to try and protect himself. But both times, God revealed the truth.

I don't know if Isaac knew about his father saying that Sarah was his sister, which is why he did that exact same thing..... again, out of fear and in order to try and preserve his own life.... even though no threats had been made against him. I tend to believe that Isaac did know. But how often have you seen or heard stories where someone from a younger generation hears something that their parent did, that didn't turn out well, but they think that they "know better" how to do it, so it will bring about different result?

"I'm smarter!" "I know better!" "It didn't work well for them, but I know how to do it so I won't be found out!"

In fact, the boundaries may be pushed just a little more than what someone else did, but there's still that expectation of a positive result.

Then at times, when you have grown up deceiving others, and seemingly getting away with it -- like Jacob when he got Esau's birthright and blessing -- but then there comes that moment when you're on the receiving end of being deceived. It doesn't feel quite so good, when the shoe is on the other foot.

There are behaviors and traits that are something to be desired; when they are ones that are godly and lead to a strong relationship with God and show kindness and love to others. But then there are those that we need to put aside and not make them something that we follow.

Abraham's faith is something that his son and grandson should have desired and longed for; not his acts of deception.

Let's make sure that we are leading godly lives that others can follow. Make sure that we are not following in the negative path that perhaps past generations of our family followed.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

In some cases, the example of entire nations or generations can serve as an example for individuals. Just as the four generations started with little lies, and decayed into to selling a brother into slavery and claiming he was dead, we as individuals can start with little lies, and build up to much more.

And just as the fourth generation had Joseph, an honorable, honest man who worshiped God with all his heart, we can reverse the decay, and rededicate ourselves to God.

ON THE MENEWE:

Strawberry Vanilla Cake

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.

Prepare cake mix according to directions on package. Evenly divide mixture in the two round cake pans and bake according to package directions. Cool.

To assemble:

Place one cake on a serving plate.

Put 1/4 cup of frosting in small resealable plastic bag (like Ziplock bag). Snip off one corner. Pipe a bead of frosting on top of outer edge of cake. Fill remaining center area with strawberry jam, spreading evenly across top of cake.

Top with second cake.

Spread remaining frosting on sides and cop of cake, to cover.

Decorate with fresh strawberries, if desired. I sometimes slice strawberries and press them into the frosting around the outside edge of the bottom of the first layer of the cake, and/or around the very top of the cake in a pattern around the edges.

You could also slice strawberries very fine and add to the cake mix before baking.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

What a day of memories today is! February 5^th was the wedding anniversary of one of my sisters and her husband. He passed away in 2012 from a brain tumor.

Jon proposed to me and we became engaged on February 5^th, 2005. My dad and stepmother, a sister and her oldest son, had come for a day visit to another sister's home. Jon had been waiting to meet with my dad to ask permission to marry me, and that gave him the perfect opportunity to do so. My dad was happy to say yes to Jon's request.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org