Genesis 3 - Key

v11

And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

I thought it was interesting that the Lord went around and asked about what was going on before He made His judgement. Of course He already knows everything, but I think it's a good idea hear things out like this. Now, He didn't have a big back-and-forth argument with the people, He just heard what they had to say, and then said what He had to say, and I think we should be the same way. You notice, though, that it doesn't record that He even bothered asking the serpent what he had to say.

Application

When there's a problem, it's easy to say, "I don't care what you have to say, because I know what I'm doing and I've already made up my mind about it." But sometimes it's a good idea to ask some of the people involved about what's going on, and take what they say into consideration before making a judgment. I'll practice that.

Genesis 33 - Key

v3

And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

Now that's humility. Jacob called Esau his lord, and he called himself Esau's servant. He insisted on blessing Esau with a gift. Even though Jacob was the one who was the Lord's servant, and had the birthright and the blessing, he humbled himself to his brother Esau.

We might think of Esau as the bad guy in this story, and Jacob as the good guy. Even when we think of ourselves as "the good guys" in a situation, and the other person as "the bad guy," we should be willing to humble ourselves.

Application

When I get into conflicts with people in my family, even if I'm I think I'm right and they're wrong, I'll humble myself.

Genesis 33 - Outline

v1-3

Jacob protected the women and children, and humbled himself

v4-7

the women and children also humbled themselves

v8-11

Esau forgave Jacob, but Jacob insisted on making sure he was appeased with gifts

v12-15

Jacob sneakily talked his way out of having to go with Esau

v16-20

while Esau went one way, Jacob actually went and tried to settle somewhere else

Genesis 3 - Outline

v1-6

There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death. (Proverbs 16:25)

v7-11

sin brings shame and fear

v12-19

the sin that they thought would be OK, brought miserable curses

v20

Eve, the mother of everyone

v21

the first leather clothes

v22-24

they lost the first opportunity for everlasting life

Humility

John 1

v27

He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

We should be humble like this.

Proverbs 16 - Key

v3

Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

If we want our thoughts to be right, and to be steady, we must commit our works to the Lord. We should do the things that He wants us to do, in the way that He wants us to do them, and we should come to Him for His help with them.

Application

I need my thoughts to be established, so I'll work on committing my works unto the Lord.

Proverbs 16 - Summary

If we want to be having the right kind of thoughts, we should commit our works to the Lord (v3). If we want peace, we should make sure our ways please the Lord, and then we don't even have to worry about our enemies because they'll be at peace with us (v7). If we want to be happy, we should make sure to be trusting in the Lord (v20b)

Our way might seem clean or right, but the Lord sees a lot deeper; And "our way" leads to death (v2,25). Pride goes before the fall (v18). We have our methods of figuring out what to do, but if we really figure out what to do, that's from the Lord (v1,9,33).

Righteousness is more important than riches (v8,16,19). This chapter says several things about kings, and righteousness is important for them (v10,12-15). Righteous and pleasant speech is important (v13,24).

Here are several other things I noticed in this chapter. Verse 29 reminded me of a recent local news story about people who broke into a house and accidentally beat up the wrong guy instead of the guy they meant to attack. Verse 28 tells us another thing about what causes strife to spread and grow: A perverted or deceitful person. And before we whisper or speak in secret, we should think twice about why we are.