tag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:/blogs/genesis-story?p=1Genesis Story2019-05-10T17:25:58-04:00The Revivedfalsetag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/34859132015-12-30T14:39:22-05:002019-10-12T15:00:59-04:00This Is A Story<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 1:1</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The word Genesis is defined as, “an origin, creation or beginning.” The book of Genesis is an origins story, but also a story of a God of infinite power and might, infinite grace and mercy, and infinite love over all that He has made. While mapping out what this “creation” song would be, I decided not to go in the direction of focusing on all the “stuff” God made (sun, moon, stars, vegetation, animals) and focus more so on the big picture of this book. After God had created the universe, the heavens, and the earth, He was not content. He created man. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”</span><br><span style="font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 12pt; text-align: right;">- Genesis 1:26</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">This is a story about the one true God pouring out His love for mankind even though they</span><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">did not deserve it. After man disobeys Him and brings sin into the world, He does not abandon them. Although man murders, destroys, and turns their backs on Him, still He did not erase man from the earth. When man takes matters into his own hands, forsaking God’s plans and timing, God never leaves his side and yet continues to provide. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville; font-style: italic;">This Is A Story </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">is a song that transcends the book of Genesis and applies to us, here and now. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685082015-12-30T14:39:05-05:002018-07-22T17:44:31-04:00Breathe<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 2:7</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">God is eternal. That is a very frustrating concept for our “time centered” minds to grasp. He is a being without beginning or end, therefore, time means very little to him. To us, time is everything. It is how we record events and order the past. It tells the story of our days and nights, and chronicles our lives, our choices, and our paths. According to Psalm 39, life is but a breath. When mankind was created it began with a breath. God’s breath.<br><br>When writing the song I tried to imagine Adams birth into the newly created earth. Here he was opening his eyes for the first time to see the one true God standing over him. I can’t imagine anything he was introduced to that first day came close to the moment he first opened his eyes to see the Creator in all of His glory. Anything he ever experienced for the rest of his life could never compare to that moment.<br><br>This account also shines a light on the fact that we can do nothing apart from God. Man may boast in his ability to create and reason, but if it were not for a simple exhale then we would not exist. For all of mankind's triumphs and victories, none of them would ever have been accomplished if it were not for a simple breath. We could not breathe in if He did not breathe out. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685092015-12-30T14:38:54-05:002020-10-23T07:02:23-04:00223 (At Last)<p> </p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 2:23</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. </span><br><br><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">While writing this song I couldn't bring myself to say anything other than what was already said. This is the account of Adam meeting his wife for the first time ever. His first reaction is to identify that she is, and always was, part of him. The words “at last” reveal a level of relief he must have been feeling for not having a partner in the world God had made for him, which prompted the lyrics “God, of all You have given me, You saved the best for last.” </span></p>
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<p> </p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685182015-12-30T14:38:40-05:002020-10-14T04:34:09-04:00The Fall Before the Fall<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(220, 89, 34); font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 32pt; text-align: center;">The Fall Before the Fall </span></div>
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<div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Isaiah 14:12-15 </span></p></div></div></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God… I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">I kept hitting a dead end while trying to write about the fall of man. I struggled finding a good way to tell the story. I was reminded of the fall of Lucifer over and over while trying to decide on where to take this song. Lucifer was an angel and his name translates to “morning star, or bringer of the dawn.” We read in Isaiah an account of him being cast out of heaven after declaring that he would make himself like God and raise his throne above God’s. After God cast him out of heaven and the truth comes out that he could never become like God, he directed his attentions toward God’s creation. If he could not beat God, he would destroy everything that God loved - most of all, mankind. The fall of man ultimately began with Lucifers fall. He set in motion a plan to distort God’s story and take down as many people with him as possible. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685192015-12-30T14:38:25-05:002018-07-22T17:45:35-04:00Still Alive<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 3:19, 23</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">It’s hard to really have compassion for the guy who ruined the earth for us all. At least thats the typical approach to this story. We tend to sit in judgement of Adam and point our fingers and blame him for the world as we know it. We had a chance to live in paradise, but didn't even make it past the first man and woman. For this song I tried to take Adam’s perspective in all of this. After all, no man will ever lose what he lost. He knew paradise on earth. He talked and walked with God face to face. He had literally everything he could have ever wanted. And then in one act of disobedience all that was taken away. He could no longer see God face to face. He could no longer live in the only place he’s ever known. That kind of loss is deeper than we could ever understand and even though he didn’t physically die, I’m sure he wished he had. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685202015-12-30T14:38:16-05:002018-07-22T17:45:45-04:00Enmity<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 3:14 </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.” </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">The word enmity means “a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism.” After the serpent convinces Eve to take the fruit God had commanded them not to eat, we see that he also receives a punishment of his own. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” While snakes are relatively greeted with animosity, this curse isn't entirely about snakes.<br><br>God also gives a prophetic judgement regarding Satan. The fall of man was a win for Lucifer, but God declares that the woman's offspring would “crush his head” referring to the salvation that Christ would bring for mankind through his sacrificial death on the cross. Even though Satan had successfully ruined all that God had created on the earth in this moment, his victory would not stand. God would not abandon His creation. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685212015-12-30T14:38:05-05:002020-08-13T07:18:36-04:00My Brother's Keeper<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 4:10-12 </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Most people have a general knowledge of who Cain was and what he did. Who he actually was is the first born of Adam and Eve and the first naturally born man on Earth. He never knew what it was like to live in the garden. Since he never got the chance to see God face to face, there was a level of faith required by him that his parents didn't need, which makes it easier to understand his heart and how he could ever murder his own brother. Not to say that murdering someone can be excused by someones upbringing, but simply how a life apart from God leads people to do unbelievably cruel and evil things.<br><br>Cain was a farmer. In order to be successful at that job he had to have woken up early every day, worked in the hot sun, and broke his back digging and carrying things all day. He ended his days aching and sore just to fall asleep to do it all over again. It’s a job with a lot of work that takes a long time before reaping any kind of reward. His brother Abel was a shepherd. While it’s not exactly easy caring for mindless sheep all day, it’s not as difficult as breaking your back all day farming. I imagine there’s a lot more down time caring for sheep and probably more time to spend meditating and communing with God. I also imagine, after working all day long, Cain probably felt bitter knowing that his life was not supposed to be so hard. He probably blamed his parents and maybe even shook his fists at God with the thought that it was not his fault his parents didn’t obey. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685222015-12-30T14:37:56-05:002015-12-30T14:37:56-05:00Forty Days and Forty Nights<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 7:17-18, 23 </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water… Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">It’s difficult to understand why horrible things happen in this life. This is an account of one of those times. We read in scripture that violence and wickedness had overrun the planet. God’s solution was to start over with one righteous family. We read that Noah was the only righteous man left in those days. So with very little explanation as to the why of what God was doing, Noah obeyed God and built an ark. There are many speculations involving why God had decided to destroy everything. But I’m not going to get into all of that. There is also speculation as to whether or not it was a worldwide flood or if it were a localized flood. Either way we know that it destroyed everything it touched and for Noah and his family that must have been a horrifying experience. We know, as christians, that horrible things happen in this world because of sin and the free will to act on sinful desires. Therefore, we understand that bad things happen because people make bad choices with their free will.<br><br>I decided to go the route of focusing on what Noah must have felt during his time on that ark in the pouring rain. With no real end in sight after over a month of flooding, he must’ve wondered what the end game was for him. He must have wondered if there would ever be life again outside of this enormous vessel he had built. I believe that he must have ultimately leaned on his decision to trust God in the first place. If he had not listened to God’s warning about the coming flood he would have been swept away with the rest of humanity. It’s on that simple fact that he was able to make it through the days he spent on that boat waiting for the waters to reside. It’s a pretty daunting feeling to look out over the side of a ship and see nothing but water. Imagine how hopeless it must’ve felt to know that there is no land anywhere for them to even reach. However, God had saved and provided for them to this point. All that was left for him to do is to trust that He would not forget them. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685232015-12-30T14:37:44-05:002015-12-30T14:37:44-05:00Dust of the Earth<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 13:15-16 </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">One day God appears to Abram and tells him to pack up and move away from the only place he has ever known. God promises Abram that He will make him into a great nation, and that He will make his name great. I’m sure a promise like that from the one true God would be enough to make any man pack up and move, but back then family was all you really had. The land you were raised in was your inheritance and to just walk away from that was a huge act of faith. Especially since the world they lived in was very hostile. However, when God promises something, He always comes through. There has been and never will be a time when God’s word fails. Abram believed in that, and because he believed God honored him and made his line into a great nation. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685242015-12-30T14:37:33-05:002015-12-30T14:37:33-05:00Salt and Ash<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 18:20-21 </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">For this story I didn’t want to focus on why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. To me, the main element in this story is Abraham’s conversation with God and how he handles the news that they are about to be destroyed. Though we may not know all the stories of what went on in these cities, Abraham sure did. He could see the cities from his own home so he must have heard stories of what went on there. So it seems strange that he would plead with God to spare them, except for the fact that Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family lived there. However, why not just ask God to spare his own family? Instead he begins to build a case with God. He asks, if there are a few righteous men, would He still destroy them? Would God treat the righteous and the wicked the same?<br><br>In this story, Abraham and God’s relationship grows to a level that we have not seen before. Abraham is boldly coming before the King of kings and questioning Him. He asks God, “What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will You still sweep them away?” To which God responds, “I will spare them if I find fifty righteous people.” Abraham continues to work down the number little by little. </span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to<br>the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the<br>righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five<br>people?”<br>-Genesis 19:27-28 </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685252015-12-30T14:37:21-05:002015-12-30T14:37:21-05:00Provide<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 22:7-8</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">To be completely honest, I would not be able to obey God if he asked me to sacrifice my son. As a parent, I love my son more than any other human being on the planet. I would rather sacrifice myself instead. Even thinking about being in Abraham’s situation makes me uncomfortable and overwhelmed. That being said, we know that Abraham had a relationship with God that no man on earth (aside from Adam) had ever known. He had spoken with God multiple times and God had been showing him and his family favor up until this point. So when the one true God asks you to do something, how do you say no? How do you know you’re not crazy? The only possible answer is that God’s voice must have been so clear and so familiar to Abraham that he knew this was truly from God.<br><br>So far in Genesis, Abraham has gone through quite a few experiences that he must’ve been leaning on through this request. He has trusted God enough to leave his home and set out for an unknown place that God said would be his. He has been shown favor with his possessions and family and has even been promised to become the father of a great nation. He has stood before God and begged for the lives of his family in Sodom and not only was not destroyed but was actually heard. Finally, Abraham has been given a son in his incredibly old age just as God had told him. God has provided in just about every way imaginable. As I recall those moments, I can see how Abraham could follow through with God’s request. He has been tested time and time again just to be shown how God always provides.<br><br>However, I know that there must have still been doubt creeping into his heart as he made his journey to the place God told him to go and sacrifice his son. He must’ve been wondering why he had even been asked to do this. It seems to go completely against the very nature of God. He must have been replaying how he would answer for what he has done knowing that if he returned home without his son, his wife and family would surely leave him for good. He must have been struggling with the thought of ending his sons life.<br><br>The approach I took while writing this song was to balance the line between those doubts and the experiences Abraham had been through. I believe, as he got closer and closer to the place he was to sacrifice his son, he must’ve reminded himself of those experiences and how God always has provided for him. I believe he must’ve known that even if he had to end his sons life, God was powerful enough to raise him to life again. He had to believe that even though this request seemed evil, God was purely good and just. Abraham put his trust in God even though he didn’t understand, which is something I believe everyone will one day have to choose to do for themselves. </span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of<br>the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”<br>“Here I am,” he replied.”<br>“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know<br>that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only<br>son.”<br>Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He<br>went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.<br>So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said,<br>“On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”<br>-Genesis 22:10-14 </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685262015-12-30T14:37:08-05:002018-05-20T09:10:20-04:00The Liar, the Hunter, the Blessing<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 25:21-23</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">Jacob and Esau were twins. Esau was the first born which meant he was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance. Once Isaac passed away, Esau was to become the head of the family. To be given most of what your father had built, in this time period, was very valuable. Jacob would still get an inheritance but he would have to build his own legacy. However, before they were even born, there was a prophetic message that the older son will serve the younger. God told Rebekah things would not go according to plan with her children. I’m sure those words must have stuck with her as she raised her children. She probably thought about it all the time as she watched her toddlers grow and interact with one another.<br><br>We read that Esau was very rugged and became a skilled hunter. He spent most of his time outdoors and was very close to his father because Isaac loved to eat wild game. We also read that Jacob was “content to stay among the tents” which I guess translates to “was into arts and crafts.” Isaac connected more with Esau than with Jacob. It’s no surprise then that Rebekah favored Jacob over Esau. I’m sure she took notice of Isaacs favoritism which caused her to compensate for Jacob so he wouldn’t feel slighted. The prophesy about Jacob ruling over Esau probably also moved Rebekah to treat Jacob with a higher status than his brother Esau.<br><br>One day Esau returns from hunting empty handed and finds his brother Jacob cooking red stew. Now, to me, red stew does not sound all that appealing. However, Jacob was the “artsy” one in the family. That stew was probably some incredible recipe he had been working on for weeks! It probably smelled as good as it tasted. It must have, because Esau agrees to sell his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of it. Esau tells Jacob that he is starving and is going to die if he doesn’t eat something (probably an overreaction) so Jacob takes advantage of the situation and sells it to him. This agreement was probably more of a “yeah sure, whatever you want” rather than an actual contractual agreement in Esau’s mind. However, this is our first insight into how important the birthright was to Jacob, and how insignificant it was to Esau.<br><br>The way the birthright was given was in the form of a blessing that the father would speak over his firstborn son. When the day finally comes where Isaac is about to pass away, he asks Esau to hunt him down some of the wild game that he loves so much. He tells Esau that after he has eaten the food, he will give Esau the birthright. Rebekah overhears Isaac’s plan which prompts her to inform Jacob. Isaac was practically blind in his old age, so Rebekah covered Jacob in hair and cooked Isaac a meal before Esau could return. Jacob ends up deceiving his father into giving him the blessing by impersonating Esau. When Esau finds out, he vows to kill Jacob for stealing the birthright from him after their father passes away.<br><br>Jacob runs away to his distant relatives to escape his brother’s wrath. He leaves the only home he’s ever known. He leaves behind his dying father and soon to be widowed mother. He abandoned everything he was familiar with all for a blessing; a prophesy that he would be successful and favored by God. He knowingly chose to lie and cheat in order to steal the birthright and consequently had to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder in fear that his brother would seek revenge. Jacob was all in when it came to this blessing. That is why, even today, people refer to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not Esau. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685272015-12-30T14:36:56-05:002015-12-30T14:36:56-05:00Bethel<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 28:13-15</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">“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. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">After Jacob runs away from his home, he stops to rest for the night. He falls asleep and has a dream in which he saw a stairway stretching down from heaven to the earth. On the stairs were angels of God ascending and descending on it and at the top of the stairs stood the God of his father Isaac. It is here that the Lord gives to Jacob the same promise He gave to Isaac and to Abraham. God goes even further and assures Jacob that He will never leave his side until He has delivered on His promise. When Jacob wakes up he considers the place he slept to be the gate to heaven. He builds a pillar and makes a vow saying:<br><br>“If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give<br>me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household,<br>then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be<br>God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”<br>- Genesis 28:20-22<br><br>Up until this point we know that Isaac’s faith was not exactly his children’s faith. Jacob stole and dishonored his father and family. Esau never really held much value in the blessing and vowed to kill Jacob after being wronged by him. Jacob didn’t trust and rely on God to provide for him. He took matters into his own hands and acted on selfish ambition. It’s only after this encounter that we see Jacob choose to follow and obey God. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685282015-12-30T14:36:47-05:002018-05-10T02:40:06-04:00Change My Name<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(220, 89, 34); font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 32pt; text-align: center;">Change My Name </span></div>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">In this story Jacob is returning home to his fathers house. Since he ran away he now has built for himself a family and legacy of his own. He has wives and children, cattle and wealth, and a past that he thinks about every day that has passed since he stole his brothers birth right. Jacob knows that when he gets home he will have to face Esau. The last time Jacob encountered Esau, Esau vowed to kill Jacob for what he had done. As Jacob makes his way closer to home he decides to separate his caravan into two groups. The first group he filled with all his flocks, herds, and camels, and the other group with his family. Jacob thought that if Esau attacked the first group, the second might escape.<br><br>Jacob prays to God for protection against Esau. He acknowledges that when he first ran away he had only a staff in his hand and now he has been made into two camps. Surely God would not have given all of this to him only to have it all striped away at his brothers hands. Jacob decides to send a gift for his brother Esau to travel ahead of the caravan in hopes to pacify Esau and gain his favor. The day comes to an end and he makes camp for the night after sending his family across the stream.<br><br>While he was alone we read that he wrestled with a man till daybreak. Later in the story we learn that the man he wrestled with was God. Now, this could be literal because it’s God and He can do whatever He wants, or this could be metaphorical because if any man wrestled with God I seriously doubt he would survive. Either way, Jacob struggles with God and we read that it lasted the entire night. Jacob tells God that he will not let go until God blesses him. Earlier in the story we read that Jacob is praying for protection from Esau, so it makes sense that he would be seeking God’s blessing in the form of protection as he wrestles with God. Eventually God blesses Jacob saying:<br><br>“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God<br>and with humans and have overcome.”<br>- Genesis 32:28<br><br>The next morning Jacob eventually comes face to face with Esau. Esau runs out toward Jacob and Jacob falls to his face and bows before Esau as he approaches. When the two brothers finally meet, Esau wraps his arms around Jacob and greets him with love and acceptance. Jacob is shocked and humbled by this greeting. Esau pours out mercy instead of wrath. Jacob deserved to be punished and held accountable for what he had done, but Esau instead laid aside what Jacob deserved. I believe this moment must have always stuck out to Jacob and his family. Jacob’s wives and children must have heard all about uncle Esau. They must have known that there was animosity between their father and his brother. We later see how this act of mercy molded Jacobs children to be more merciful through Joseph’s story. </span></p>The Revivedtag:therevivedmusic.com,2005:Post/39685292015-12-30T14:36:35-05:002015-12-30T14:36:35-05:00The Dreamer<div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Genesis 45:4-8</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Baskerville; color: rgb(92, 67, 42);">Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. </span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Baskerville;">I could have easily made the story of Joseph into three songs. However, while writing The Dreamer, I liked the angle of all the things happening to Joseph being more than he could ever had dreamed or imagined. Joseph grows up being the youngest of twelve. One night he has a dream that the sun, moon, and eleven stars are bowing down to him. He tells his family about his dream, and his eleven brothers are understandably offended that their little brother is prophesying that they, along with their father and mother, will one day bow down to him. This is the second of two dreams that essentially foretell how Joseph will rule over his entire family. As a result, Joseph’s brothers decide to kill him the first chance they get. They instead end up selling Joseph into slavery after one of his brothers feels guilty about killing him.<br><br>Joseph ends up in Egypt and becomes a servant to a man named Potiphar who was one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was the captain of the guard. Joseph was blessed and became Potiphar’s main attendant over his entire household until Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph rejects her so she then frames Joseph by claiming he tried to rape her and Joseph ends up in prison. While in prison, Joseph accurately interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s former baker and cupbearer. The Baker ends up executed and the Cupbearer gets reinstated to his position just as Joseph foretells. Eventually the Cupbearer remembers Joseph when Pharaoh begins to have troubling dreams that no one can interpret. The Cupbearer explains what Joseph had foretold and suggests that Joseph may be able to help interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh calls for Joseph and he again, through God, accurately interprets the dreams. Pharaoh sets Joseph up as second in command over all of Egypt. With God’s help, Joseph is able to warn Pharaoh of a drought that lasts for seven years. During that time people from all over the surrounding area come to Egypt for food because they have wisely stored up supplies in anticipation for the drought. Among those people are Joseph’s brothers.<br><br>When Joseph recognizes his brothers he is filled with sorrow. Joseph reveals his identity and his brothers are all obviously shocked and terrified at what they probably have coming to them. However, Joseph was among the family standing with his father Jacob many years before. Joseph witnessed first hand what it meant to show mercy to those who did not deserve it. He instead recognized that it was through his brothers selfish intentions that God was able to provide for his family. If not for Joseph being sold into slavery and put into prison, he would never have been able to warn Pharaoh of the coming famine, which could have meant death for Joseph’s family.<br><br>Joseph probably questioned many times why these things were happening to him. He must’ve wondered how anyone would ever bow before him while he was nothing more than a slave and prisoner. He had those dreams while he was still a young man, and was still waiting many years later for them to come to pass. God’s timing is never easy to understand in the meantime. However, God had allowed all those things to happen to Joseph so he would be in the right place at the right time. If not for Joseph’s interpretations about the Baker and Cupbearer, Pharaoh may have never even heard Joseph’s name. Instead, Joseph was able to warn Pharaoh and save hundreds of thousands of lives including his own family who betrayed and abandoned him. The Lord always provides even when it doesn’t look or feel like it. </span></p>The Revived