10th Anniversary Reader:
The Whole Story of God for the Whole People of God
In his book Who Gets to Narrate the World? Robert Webber laments that the story of God suffers from both reductionism and privatism both inside and outside the church, and challenges us as Christians to narrate the world once again by immersing ourselves in God's story through the study of scripture and the ancient writings of the church. As we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Florida Dunnam Campus, we invite you to join us as we read together the whole story of God. But more than that - the invitation extends beyond an exercise in reading to an honest integration of the story into your life - LIVE into the fullness of God's story this year; talk about it; pray it; sing it; celebrate it! My hope and prayer is that as a community we will experience a heightened awareness of our centeredness in Christ, our growth in grace, and our call to reach the world with the fullness of God's story.
In order for us to accomplish this task within the academic year (September 2008 through May 2009), we will need to read 4 to 5 chapters of scripture each day. A reading schedule is available to you both online and in hard copy format. Beginning September 2, 2008, check this page daily for reflections on our readings written by members of the Florida Dunnam Campus community - faculty, staff and students. You can access previous weekly writings by following the link at the bottom of this page.
The Whole Story of God for the Whole People of God
10th Anniversary Reader: Week Two
(September 7-13, 2008)
Sunday, September 7, 2008 Genesis 26-30
Jacob took advantage of and defrauded his brother.1 He deceived his blind father.2 He had to run for his life from the land God promised as an inheritance to his family.3 Jacob slept alone like an exile with his head on a stone.4 But as Jacob suffered the consequences of his scheming and deceit, God “stood beside” him and promised blessing.5 Jacob’s response is what calls us into the story: “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!”6
How often is this true for us, too? The LORD is in this place, that place, the place of our hardships—even the self-inflicted ones!—and we do not know it. God does not stand far off from our world mired in sin and suffering, and he does not stand far off from those who sin and suffer. God “stood beside” Jacob,7 and God stands beside us.
Monday, September 8, 2008 Genesis 31-35
Jacob’s life was one of struggle with other human beings, and also with God. At the ford of the Jabbok, Jacob sent all of his flocks and herds and all of his family ahead into the land he had run from—the land that was promised to him and the land in which his wronged brother still lived.8 As he was on his way out, he was again on his way back in—alone in the night.9 Once again, God met him. And once again, Jacob did not know it—not until their wrestling ended in a blessing at dawn.10 He saw God face to face and emerged from the struggle with his life,11 but not without a limp.12 And though he prevailed, he could not remain unchanged: “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel.”13
But then, who of us has wrestled with God and stayed the same?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Genesis 36-40
Isaac’s sons became fathers; their sons bore rulers. Esau sired “kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.”14 Jacob also fathered kings, but their story is longer and full of strife as Jacob’s ruse with two goats and his brother’s clothing15 ricochets down his line(s). The sons of Joseph’s twin sons became rulers of the Northern Kingdom.16 Their tale begins here with another sibling rivalry,17 another father deceived with another goat, another clothing-based hoax.18 One of Tamar’s twins, fathered by her father-in-law, Judah (Does this seem out of place?), produced the other royal line descended from Jacob. Here too is sibling rivalry,19 a father deceived with a goat and garments.20 Esau’s lineage seems prosaic—‘just the facts,’ lacking even any mention of the Lord. Jacob’s family history would be nothing more than a series of tragedies—were it not for God’s presence throughout.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Genesis 41-45
God’s work went on in the struggles of Jacob’s family. Facing famine, they struggled to eat “and not die.”21 Jacob struggled to protect his line, sending ten sons to buy Egyptian grain.22 Unrecognized23 (Did his clothing deceive?24), Joseph challenged25 and tested26 his brothers, and struggled for self-control.27 His brothers struggled with their past, understanding their hardships as punishment for their sin against Joseph.28 Given as the price of the family’s survival, Simeon remained a captive in Egypt29 (Nothing was done to redeem him until the grain ran out!30) while Leah’s oldest and youngest sons,31 Reuben32 and Judah,33 struggled to convince Jacob to entrust Rachel’s son Benjamin to them. “Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin.”34 In risking the lives of all his sons, and in receiving back Simeon and even Joseph—as if from the dead—Jacob struggled to believe.35
Thursday, September 11, 2008 Genesis 46-50
As Jacob made his way to Egypt with his whole household, the men who would be the ancestors of the rulers of Israel met when “he sent Judah before him to Joseph.”36 Near the end of his “few and evil”37 days, Jacob blessed his sons,38 continuing a pattern that ran contrary to human expectations and senses of propriety: the youngest fared better than the eldest. Judah, Leah’s youngest son, would surpass Levi and Simeon, and even eclipse the preeminence of Reuben, his mother’s firstborn.39 Taken as Jacob’s sons in place of their “dead” father,40 Manasseh and Ephraim were blessed by the patriarch in a way that displeased Joseph:41 “Not so my father; for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”42 Thus, even in the case of Rachel’s beloved firstborn son, Israel’s best blessing did not fall where it was supposed to—according to human standards.
Friday, September 12, 2008 Exodus 1-5
Exodus narrates the unfolding of God’s character through the deliverance and sanctification of God’s people. From the call of Abraham centuries earlier (Gen 12:1-3), God had dreamed of the shaping and unleashing of people who existed for the sake of the world as a means of calling all humanity to live as the people that they were created to be (Gen 1:26-31).
God’s people are numerous (Exod 1:7), but displaced from the promised land of Canaan. They are sojourners in Egypt and not welcome. Pharaoh has misread their presence in Egypt as a threat and has acted to eliminate God’s people through brutal labor and genocidal edicts.
In a remarkable passage (2:23-25), God springs to action. What kind of God is presented in Exodus? A God who hears, remembers, sees, and knows. God’s plan to bring salvation to the world has been threatened. God’s people are suffering. So God promises his profound and powerful presence to Moses (3:1-4:17) and initiates the actions that will free God’s people from Egypt so that they can serve in God’s mission for the world.
God continues to invite and unleash followers of Jesus to participate fully in God’s mission.
Saturday, September 13, 2008 Exodus 6-10
Deliverance is messy. God takes risks by working through people. The decisions that people make affect the manner in which God accomplishes his work. The interplay between God and humans is a key component to the Plagues narrative. In our text, God patiently encourages Moses and recommissions him (6:1-7:7). Moses’ problem is Pharaoh. Pharaoh stands unimpressed by Moses or by Moses’ God (5:2). By engaging Moses, God empowers him to continue to serve as ambassador to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh’s intransigence presents a different challenge to God. God does not merely swat Pharaoh as though he were a gnat. Instead God reacts to Pharaoh’s arrogance and stubbornness with ever increasing signs in order to invite Pharaoh to respond positively and obediently to God’s plan for the world. A key verse is 9:16: But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth. All of God’s actions are meant to draw people to reconcile with their creator. Even Pharaoh is shown grace in the form of multiple opportunities to submit to God’s plans and release God’s people to serve God.
God desires us to respond with faithful obedience to his call on our lives. He relentlessly engages us with opportunities to (re)align our lives with His missional aims.
1 Gen 27:36 ff (NRSV)
2 Gen 27:18 ff, esp vv. 20-27 (NRSV)
3 Gen 27:41-28:5 (NRSV)
4 Gen 28:10-11 (NRSV)
5 Gen 28:13-15 (NRSV)
6 Gen 28:16 (NRSV)
7 Gen 28:13 (NRSV)
8 Gen 32:3-23 (NRSV)
9 Gen 32:24 (NRSV)
10 Gen 32:24-30 (NRSV)
11 Gen 32:30 (NRSV)
12 Gen 32:31 (NRSV)
13 Gen 32:28 (NRSV)
14 Gen 36:31 (NRSV). Before any king reigned over the Israelites, cf. Joseph as a ruler from Jacob’s line—in Egypt!—Gen 41:37-45.
15 Gen 27, esp. vv. 5-17 (NRSV)
16 cf. Gen 28ff, Jdgs, 1 Kngs 11:26
17 Gen 37:3-4 (NRSV)
18 Gen 37:31-36
19 Gen 38:8-9
20 Gen 38:13-19
21 Gen 42:2
22 Gen 42:3-4
23 Gen 42:7-8
24 cf. Gen 41:42
25 Gen 42:9, 12, 14
26 Gen 42:15-20, 25; cf. 43:12
27 Gen 42:24, 43:30, 45:1-2, 14-15
28 Gen 42:21-22
29 Gen 42:19
30 Gen 43:1-5; cf. vv. 14, 23 Simeon’s redemption appears only incidental to the purchase of more grain.
31 Gen 29:31-35
32 Gen 42:35-38
33 Gen 43:3-10, esp. vv. 8-9
34 Gen 42:36
35 Gen 45:26-28
36 Gen 46:28
37 Gen 47:9
38 Gen 49
39 Gen 49:3-12
40 Gen 48:5-12
41 Gen 48:13-22
42 Gen 48:18