1 Kings 3:5-12 Desire is important. Not the sort of desire we might have for cars or money or sex or fame, but the deepest desires and longings of our hearts. Our inmost desires can clue us into what God truly desires for us. Desires can help us understand who we are becoming and what…

Genesis 28:10-19a Jacob has left home. He has recently bribed the ancestral birthright from his twin brother Esau and he must surely be somewhat anxious as he embarks on his journey. The dream of Jacob is what is needed for such a worried mind and troubled heart. The stream of rising and falling angels connects…

Genesis 25:19-34 The layers of meaning in this passage go far beyond its being a simple tale of sibling rivalry. Jacob takes advantage of Esau’s hunger in order to get the birthright, or blessing, that rightly belongs to Esau. It says something about the human condition that Esau is willing to give it all up…

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 When the lectionary skips verses in a reading, it is often helpful to check in with the Bible and see what got left out. In this week’s reading, Abraham’s servant asks Laban and Bethuel a question in Genesis 24:49, and then the reading skips to verse 58, where they call Rebekah…

Genesis 22:1-14 Many contemporary Christians find this text to be very challenging, for it raises uncomfortable questions about the nature of God and how God interacts with us. Why would God test Abraham by ordering him to sacrifice his son Isaac? One explanation is that the authors of Genesis were attempting to clearly and definitively…