Darash Chai - Seek Life!

I was invited to give a breakout session at Sukkot with Founded In Truth. It was a wonderful time with a great group of people. Here is the recording of that session. If you wanted an update on Darash Chai, this is it. I am nearly a year into making this experiment my focus. Let's see where we are. What is the "Nature of Life?"

We are all familiar with the story of Joseph in Potiphar's house in Egypt. Raised to a position of authority and then an accusation. If we are paying attention, we will recognize that the previous chapter contained a similar story of an accusation against an innocent. This parallel in these chapters opens up for us a topic of human justice. The process that the Bible gives from accusation to conviction. This is vitally important today. A day and age of weaponized accusations.

In Genesis 38 the text takes a detour that has caused a lot of discussion in theological circles. We know who Judah becomes. We know what Judah just did. And for one chapter we get a Judah centered narrative that tells us of his life between those two points in time. But why this narrative? It is confusing and confounding all at once. What is it about this chapter that it would be the one and only chapter of all of scripture that is focused only on the character of Judah?

The story of the sons of Jacob begins in full in this chapter of Genesis. Once again, we find that as young men, there is a baseline of evil that runs through there hearts. But if we examine this episode of Joseph being sold into slavery from a perspective of life, we may discover an amazing example of just how the path of life is not the same as either good or evil.

Genesis is a book of origins. The origin of the world. The origin of the covenant. The origin of the family of Abraham. The origin of the...gospel? How do a trip, the death of two women, a blessing, a coup, and a genealogy reflect the gospel?

For the past few chapter we have witnessed the fact that Jacob is a changed man. He is at peace with all of his neighbors. It doesn't last long. Something happens in Shekhem that will shape much of what is to come. But do we truly understand this episode? How can an honor and shame perspective change our understanding of the tragedy of the destruction of Shekhem?

This episode is our second podcast exclusive holiday special. This is a rerecording of a teaching that I gave at a local Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) gathering in Easley, SC. Yom Teruah is a celebration of the Kingship of God. Once we acknowledge His kingship, it follows that we are servants to the king. What does it mean to be a servant?

Jacob has successfully withdrawn from the house of Laban. Now comes the confrontation with Esau. But Jacob is not the same man who left Canaan. His time in Haran has changed him, and before he meets Esau, comes a challenge. A man. In the dark. A contest of strength and will. And before he confronts Esau, Jacob becomes Israel. What did it take? Was this a process that occurred overnight, or has this been something that has been building us for the past 20 years?

The time has finally come for Jacob to leave Laban's house, but knowing Laban, it is not going to be easy. Jacob is no longer defined by the deception that was once his nature, and yet, it is still a tool in his arsenal. In order to overcome Laban, Jacob will need Integrity, but before that, in order to leave, Jacob needs to deceive Laban one last time. How can this be? Can deception be a tool used by the righteous?

Upon the birth of Joseph, Jacob desires to leave Laban's house. He asks to leave, but is convinced to stay. It is at this point that Jacob gets to choose his wages, and he chooses the imperfect of the flocks of Laban as his wages. Then comes one of the most confounding stories in scripture. What are we to make of this? Why is this story even part of scripture? Let's dig in and see what we can find.

Jacob has more issues that hold him back than his deception. He learned a lot from his parents, and the next thing that he is faced with is favortism. And with two wives, and sisters at that, favortism is bound to get him into a whole lot of trouble.

Jacob is now the defacto leader of the family of Abraham when his father Isaac dies, but he his also on the run for his life. This week we examine this story of Jacob on the run form his brother and into the arms of his uncle. If we were to examine this story in a vacuum, it would seem as if Jacob is beginning his life of blessing as the leader of the family of Abraham, but all is not as it seems. Before Jacob can receive his blessing, he must first learn of his failures. This concept begins a cascade in the life of Jacob, and if we allow it, this concept will begin a process within our own lives to begin to learn of our failures and how to overcome them.

The birthright has been purchased, but the blessing has been stolen. Esau is angry. And why shouldn't he be? The blessing, the leadership position over the family was his by right. Rules of inheritance dictated that Esau would lead the family in the future, but now, not the weasel, serpent, trickster, deceiver has stolen it all away. What is his response? Better yet, what would your response be in a similar circumstance?

This week we begin a long exploration of the last of the three patriarchs of Israel. Jacob, also known later as Israel. The time has come for Isaac to give his blessing to one of these boys. He wants to bless one, but due to his loss of sight and an act of cunning and deception, Jacob supersedes his brother Esau! Theft, lying, deception, these things are immoral, and yet God uses them to bless the world. How does that even work?

Isaac the patriarch is the one that we know the very least about. Abraham was around for 13 chapters. Jacob will be around for the rest of Genesis. Isaac gets this one chapter to shine, and this chapter is vitally essential to the overall message of Genesis. Why THIS, confusing and unrelatable chapter? What do wells and covenants have to do with me, and with the church today?

When we began this experiment, we developed a few tools that we could use to discern the topics of Scripture as we approach them. When we come to a passage that features not just one, but two lists of names, and then a few seemingly disconnected stories, what do we do with them? Should we simply skip past it as if there is no meaning? or do we slow down, take our time, and tease the text? If we take our time, we can discover that the Bible is full of profound and meaningful discussions, even in the most boring of places.

A candidate has been found. A proposal has been made. Now comes the responsibility of sharing the message. But wait, the message that the servant gives is not 100% accurate to what we read before. Is the servant being faithless, or is there something else going on?

Sarah has died, Isaac is unmarried, and Abraham is getting old...er. The time has come for Abraham to send his servant out into the world to find a person to join the covenant that God has made with his family. But who? How to choose? What is it that the servant should look for? Who is this servant anyway, and what can we learn from him?

As we read through the story of Abraham, there is an essential person that is always in the background. The woman behind the man. When we speak of Sarah, we usually point out her lack of faith with Hagar, or when she laughed. Rarely do we ever try to understand her as a person. So let's do that. Let's get to know Sarah. You may find that you identify with her more than you know.

What do you do when God asks the impossible? What do you do when God asks everything of you? Of all of the stories of Abraham in the Bible, the story of the Binding of Isaac is perhaps the most iconic. It reveals the standard and shows a man, who has to trust fully and reveals the truth that absolute faith requires obedience.