Blog Posts - Way Anchor Christian Travel

Exodus 1-3

1/20/2020

Reading for Saturday January 18, 2020
Exodus 1-3
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Genesis 48-50

1/17/2020

Reading for Friday January 17, 2020
Genesis 48-50
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 49: 28
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.

My take:
When the apostles went out to spread the word about Jesus, Paul was the only one to spend a lot of time among the gentiles. The other apostles almost exclusively sought out the tribes of Israel.

Genesis 46-47

1/16/2020

Reading for Thursday January 16, 2020
Genesis 46-47
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 47: 8-9
And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning."

My take:
Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was. Jacob responds by saying that he has been sojourning, or traveling, for 130 years. Jacob is considering his entire life a sojourn away from his home. His home is in heaven with God. We are in this world, but we are not of this world. We are all travelers, our true home being with God.

Genesis 43-45

1/15/2020

Reading for Wednesday January 15, 2020
Genesis 43-45
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 45: 4-8
And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God

My take:
Joseph looks past the injustice done to him by his brothers and truly sees God's purpose.

Genesis 41-42

1/14/2020

Reading for Tuesday January 14, 2020
Genesis 41-42
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 41: 51-54
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." The name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

My take:
God is with Joseph. While Joseph is afflicted by the sins of man, he prospers by his devotion to God. Bread is symbolic of having all necessities. Joseph had God on his side, so he had all that was necessary. Later, Jesus would be known as the bread of life.

Genesis 38-40

1/13/2020

Reading for Monday January 13, 2020
Genesis 38-40
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 39: 2
The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man

My take:
Joseph is sold into slavery, thrown into jail, betrayed by his brothers, his master's wife, and fellow prisoners that he helped, but his story is not a tragedy, rather it is a success story. The Lord is with Joseph. This alone is all that is necessary for Joseph to be successful.

Genesis 35-37

1/12/2020

Reading for Sunday January 12, 2020
Genesis 35-37
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 35: 19-20
So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.

My take:
When I was reading the Bible as a youngster, I remember coming to the words "there to this day", and thinking to myself: "to which day? The day in which Genesis was written by Moses? Or to the current day? Is this a place I could go see?" These four words transformed my entire approach to reading the Bible from a collection of stories to a historical record. Indeed, the Tomb of Rachel is still there to this day, and it is a place that I could go see. Like most sites in the holy lands, a building has been constructed at the site which has been built, rebuilt, updated, fought-over, and control of which has changed hands several times. And also, like many holy land sites, the location of the building is disputed. Rachel is considered the mother of Israel and her tomb is the 3rd holiest site in Judaism. The site is also revered by Christians and Muslims.

Genesis 32-34

1/11/2020

Reading for Saturday January 11, 2020
Genesis 32-34
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 32: 24-28
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

My take:
Jacob is concerned about seeing his brother and what may happen. Jacob is concerned about earthly things, and is not trusting or remembering his covenant with God. I at first think that he is wrestling with himself or his own thoughts, but it is clear by the fact that his hip is dislocated that this is an actual physical wrestling match. God meets Jacob where Jacob is, and allows him to prevail in this earthly struggle. God changes Jacob's name to Israel. To this day, Israelites strive with God and with man, and prevail.

Genesis 30-31

1/10/2020

Reading for Friday January 10, 2020
Genesis 30-31
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 31: 51-54
Then Laban said to Jacob, "See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

My take:
After making an agreement, Jacob calls his kinsmen together to share bread. Bread represents all the necessities of life, and the breaking of bread together is very symbolic of making a covenant. Jesus is the bread of life. On the night of the last supper, Jesus became the bread, that through Him, we have all the necessities of life.

Genesis 27-29

1/9/2020

Reading for Thursday January 9, 2020
Genesis 27-29
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This jumped out at me:
Genesis 28: 16-17
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

My take:
God is everywhere, He is omnipresent. However, this passage suggests that place does matter. Many times in the Bible, people are directed to go to specific places, or to go away from certain places.