Biblical Shakers

  Click on Title for Video Introduction Monday, Genesis Chapter 29 Genesis 29 Delores Little August 11, 2006 THOUGHT Well, a lot has happened in this chapter. Jacob gets to Padden Aram and meets Rachel and rolls the stone away for her to water the sheep.  She runs to tell her Dad that Jacob is there, and he welcomes him. Jacob was attacked to her immediately.  Laban said he had to work 7 years for her.  Jacob worked and waited all that time. (Too bad the kids today don’t see things that way!!!) Then Laban gave his oldest daughter to him, and he didn’t know it until the morning. Did she have a veil over her face when they got married or was she  sent to his tent and that is how they were married?  Jacob was angry and had to then wait another 7 years for Rachel. Wow, now it was 14 years for her.  Jacob loved Rachel.  When God saw Leah was not loved, He opened her womb, and she had the first 4 sons of Jacob.  This is a love story for one woman a...

  Click on Title for Video Introduction Monday, Genesis Chapter 24 Genesis 24 Verse 67b Tanya Ruden August 4, 2006 Verse 67b:  So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. THOUGHT It is hard for me to parallel this story to anything in today’s day and age.  I often wonder if this type of arrangement was strange to people back then or if it was normal.  I mean can you imagine if your daughter was approached to leave with someone you didn’t know, to be with someone you had never met, in a far off place? I would FREAK!  There are a couple of things I want to discuss about this chapter.  Frist-I respect how Abraham was determined to find a wife for his son from ‘his people’. I think this teaches us an important point about choosing our spouse. It reminds us we need to find someone like us - not someone we can change to be like us.  What priorities that are important to you are for you to choose, but I think it...

  Click on Title for a Video Introduction Monday, Genesis Chapter 19 Genesis 19 Mindy Strayer July 29, 2006 THOUGHT Back in chapter 13 Lot chose to live right next to Sodom, knowing that it was a very wicked, sinful city. Here in chapter 19 we see the consequences of his choice. This is a good example of how a selfish choice made apart from God leads to problems down the road. Chapter 19 is full of some of the grossest perversion told in the Bible. It is important to be aware that being a part of a sinful environment that does not live according to God’s law can desensitize us to right vs wrong as it did to Lot and his family.  It is evidenced in Lot offering his daughters to the crowd of men and in his daughters getting him drunk and then sleeping with them so that they could carry out the family name.  We get use to things. The devil and sin are very sneaky. At first we are shocked and can avoid the sins to a certain degree. But after a while it finds its way into our l...

  Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, Genesis Chapter 14 Genesis 14 Verses 14-16 Heather Williams July 21, 2006 Verses 14-16:  When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  During the night Abram divided his men to attack them, and he routed them, pursing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.   THOUGHT Rereading Genesis has reminded me of what strong faith and courage Abraham had. Here we see Abraham’s faith displayed again through his actions. Lot was taken captive, and Abraham hears about it and reacts.  A couple things we learn from his response and actions are 1) He had courage! Wow, he really trusted God to react and confront that king and his armies. This was a powerful adversary, yet he didn’t even pause before goin...

Click on Title for Video Introduction Monday, Genesis Chapter 9 Genesis 9 Verse 16 Jeanie Boldt July 13, 2006 Verse 16:  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. THOUGHT The Lord made several statements in the covenant. The one that has touched me in the final part promises a rainbow enjoyed by mankind when it rains as a sign to all that God will keep His promises. Do any of you have a Rainbow Story? Aren’t they special? We love to color them. In fact it is one of the first things we teach little ones. There are special dolls, Rainbow Brite, My Little Rainbow Pony, Rainbow Care Bear and on and on. I even sing the girls a song about the colors in the rainbow. It is a bridge of beauty that joins heaven and earth.  Rainbows still remind us of God’s faithfulness to His Word. Whether we look at the rainbow or not, God looks upon it and remembers His promises....

  Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, Genesis Chapter 4 Genesis 4 Verses 3-5 Matt Strayer July 7, 2006 Verses 3-5:  In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. THOUGHT Cain and Abel both brought offerings to the Lord. The difference in their offerings was not that one was fruit and the other meat. The difference was that Cain didn’t give God his best, and Abel brought the best part from his firstborn flock to give to God. I wonder where Cain’s heart and mind were when he was getting his offering ready. I wonder if he was distracted and preoccupied, or maybe he was only bringing God an offering because he knew it was something he should do and not something he truly wanted to do.  I know I have...

Click on title for Video Introduction Monday, Esther Chapter 10 Esther 10 Jeanie Boldt April 15, 2021 The book closes with a tribute to Mordecai.  Not merely a king’s favorite, he was respected by his people and honored for his successful administration.  How long this continued is unknown.  Mordecai’s period of office must have ended before Xerexs’ assassination in 465 BC.  Almost certainly Esther had died or fallen from favor before then, too.  But these historical details are outside the scope of the book which was written not to record the lives of the emperors, queens or prime ministers by a great national deliverance which would bring comfort and hope to millions of Jews through hundreds of years, Esther was a Great Book which indeed had a story to tell.   PRAYER Father, it is amazing to see Your hand in history.  You indeed blessed Esther with beauty, intelligence, faithfulness and wisdom.  Give us the qualities that would help Your wo...