A Quatern on the Deluge {gn7:19-20}

Photo © Unsplash/Eutah Mizushima

Photo © Unsplash/Eutah Mizushima

the rain has been falling    how long i don't know
the last time i saw land was so long ago
the trees have all drowned and the mountains are gone
the water obscures every trace of the dawn

within me    the rivers of doubt overflow
the rain has been falling    how long i don't know
alone on this ocean    i bobble    afloat
i must have been crazy to get in this boat

it would have been better to die with the world
and not have to see what's familiar unfurled
the rain has been falling    how long i don't know
i wonder how far down the flood waters go

this sea-weary vessel will anchor at last
but life as i've known it will be in the past
until then    i'll wonder what's lurking below
the rain has been falling    how long i don't know

 

Quatern: A sixteen-line French form composed of four quatrains, with a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza four.

God mediates... to us.

God mediates... to us.

GENESIS 44

One of the central tenets of Christianity is that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. Since the root of "mediator" is "media," we can see that there is an element of communication  involved in such a role. But often, Christianity gets confused about what Jesus is communicating and to whom. So why does Jesus play the role of mediator? And what the heck does any of this have to do with Genesis 44?

God gives tears for fears.

God gives tears for fears.

GENESIS 43

One of the things this chapter does so well is draw a big distinction between the way our mind works and the way God’s mind works. I see an awful lot of God in Joseph, particularly in this point in the story. He knows now that his older brothers and father are still alive. He’s not so sure about his younger brother. Certainly, he hasn’t forgotten about being sold into slavery. Yet, Joseph never harbors any ill will toward his brothers for what they have done to him. He treats them kindly, though he must wonder if they have tried to get rid of Benjamin (Rachel’s other child) as they had gotten rid of him.

God takes the blame.

God takes the blame.

GENESIS 42

Chapter 42 of Genesis is illuminating in what it tells us about how people in Joseph’s day perceived God. In verse 25, it says, "Joseph gave orders to fill [his brothers'] bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey." So, Joseph basically gave his brothers grain for free by putting their payments back in their sacks.

God knows what He's doing.

God knows what He's doing.

GENESIS 41

Well, it was only a matter of time before this was the blog title! It’s difficult to read Genesis 41 and not just see God in charge all over the place! He’s sending dreams to Pharaoh. He’s got His ready-made interpreter (Joseph) in place. He’s gearing up to save the whole world from a terrible famine, and He knows just how to do it.

God is not a hoarder.

God is not a hoarder.

GENESIS 40

How should we expect an all-knowing, all-powerful Deity to act? As a dictator? A celebrity? A self-absorbed ruler? No matter what we expect, God blows the expectations out of the water time and time again. In this chapter of Genesis, what I see is a God who is more concerned with making His creatures look good, a God who shares His honor with His subordinates.

God works unhindered.

God works unhindered.

GENESIS 39

There is something so beautiful and almost funny about the straightforward relating of events in Genesis 39. First, Joseph is taken into Potiphar’s house. And the Bible says that the Lord was with Joseph, so both Joseph and Potiphar prospered while Joseph was in charge of things. Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything because “the Lord gave [Joseph] success in everything he did.” (vs 3)

Eight {gn6:5-6}

Photo © Unsplash/Tim Marshall

Photo © Unsplash/Tim Marshall

There was no ark
to save God's heart
when grief crashed in like a flood.

            when
regret raindrops
            became
pain puddles
            that joined up into
remorse rivers
            that pooled into
lament lakes
            that merged into
sorrow seas
            and eventually yielded a
deep blue deluge
            over our terminal condition

No—
there was no ark
to save God's heart
when grief crashed in like a flood:

the grief of knowing
the ark he would send us
required room
for no more than
eight.

 

God doesn't "stack" the family deck.

God doesn't "stack" the family deck.

GENESIS 38

When you do genealogy, sometimes you uncover family "secrets" you wish you had left buried.  Without the benefit of being able to ask questions, sometimes we’re left to our own speculation. For instance, I have my own genealogy "mystery" waiting to be revealed some hundreds of years down the line. I recently had my most special Bible rebound in leather (because it was starting to fall apart), and when I did, I had my name engraved on the front. Of course, it’s my married name, yet the handwritten inscription from my father in the front of the Bible is dated 2002. Anybody who has access to my marriage license will know that I wasn’t a Lorencin in 2002. Let the speculation begin. 

God is never caught off guard.

God is never caught off guard.

GENESIS 37

And so now we come to the story of Joseph, the son whom Jacob loved more than all the others, the son who began having dreams. Joseph and his brothers had grown up in an environment where they were exposed to jealousy and rivalry, so it’s no surprise that Joseph’s brothers don’t much like the dreams he tells them about. Even Jacob takes a little offense: "Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" (vs 10)

God fulfills promises creatively.

God fulfills promises creatively.

GENESIS 36

The land of Canaan had been promised to Jacob and the future Israelites. It was the Promised Land, the land that God planned to give to the descendants of Abraham. However, the rivalry between Jacob and Esau could have put a wrench in things. Instead of trusting God to fulfill His promises in His own time, Jacob devised a way to get what he thought was rightfully his (the birthright and his father’s blessing). Esau was initially jealous and angry and even sought to kill his brother.

God's blessings are constant in changing situations.

God's blessings are constant in changing situations.

GENESIS 31

In this chapter, Jacob complains that Laban has changed his wages ten times. "However," Jacob said, "God has not allowed him to harm me. If he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked young." (vs 7-8)

God has a soft spot for the unloved.

GENESIS 29

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb,
but Rachel was barren." (vs 31)

I suppose there could be many ways to interpret such a verse. We could feel sorry for Rachel. Why should she be barren? It’s not her fault that Jacob was so in love with her. Then again, it’s not Leah’s fault that her father tricked Jacob into marrying her either.

Photo © Unsplash/Josh Adamski

Photo © Unsplash/Josh Adamski

How should we understand such a verse? Was God trying to punish Rachel because she was loved? Some people might try to pass this off as the writer’s interpretation of why Leah had so many babies and Rachel had so few. In a culture where the god was seen as responsible for everything, they reason, if a woman was barren, it had to be seen as God’s doing.

Photo © shutterstock.com/altanaka

Photo © shutterstock.com/altanaka

Regardless of the interpretation, though, I love how the writer of Genesis places God squarely in line with loving the unloved. He has a tender spot for the neglected. He has sympathy for the brokenhearted. And I love the idea that God comforted Leah all He could by blessing her with children... and male children to boot!

One of my favorite songs is a ballad by Wayne Watson called, "Friend of a Wounded Heart." Whenever we’re lonely or feel beaten down, neglected, or unloved, we should remember that our God has "been there, done that." He knows what it means to be cast aside. He knows what it means to be ignored. And there is a special place in His heart for anyone who has ever been unloved.

God blesses without condition.

God blesses without condition.

GENESIS 28

There is something so interesting in this chapter, and it is the comparison between God’s promises and our promises.

As Jacob is journeying to find a wife, God renews His promise to make a great nation from Jacob’s descendants. He says, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.