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Created Through Him

Family dynamics

12/28/2013

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. 42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; 45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? (Genesis 27:41-46)

We see Esau’s true nature. Esau desired to murder Jacob. And so we see that while Jacob was no saint at least at this stage in life, he was not as rebellious and angry, as was Esau. We see that Rebekah is even lamenting Esau’s choice of a wife and Rebekah did not want Jacob to make the same mistake. There is certainly a lot of dysfunction in Isaac’s family at this stage. The dysfunction is a result of sin.

His power

12/27/2013

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed: 28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: 29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. 30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. 34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. 35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? 38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (Genesis 27:14-40).

Esau was tricked and undermined; there is little doubt to this fact. However, remember, God sees the beginning from the end. And while it is not true that Jacob was more righteous by nature than Esau, what is true is that God chose to work through Jacob (Israel). This is simply a sovereign choice of God, not based on individual merit but rather upon the faithfulness and righteousness of God. God chooses people that He can manifest His power through. This is why we are told to humble ourselves before God and rely on Him and His power, rather than our own.

Certain to occur

12/26/2013

1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them (Genesis 27:1-13).

Jacob knew that deceiving his father would not be easy even though by this time Isaac was blind. It is interesting too that neither Jacob nor his mother Rebekah thought too much about deceiving Isaac, they just wanted the deception to be successful. Rather Machiavellian (before his time): in their eyes the end justified the means. Remember Rebekah knew that God had promised to make Esau serve Jacob, as it was prophesized to her when she was pregnant with them both. But you have to wonder whether she was acting in faith or rather trying to ensure that the outcome was what she wanted. The fact is God brings about His will when we act, as we should, and when we act as we shouldn’t. God’s sovereign will is not thwarted by Man’s bad actions or for that matter Man’s good actions. In all, God is sovereign.

A source of concern

12/25/2013

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. 33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day. 34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah (Genesis 26: 31-35).

The marriage of Esau to a Hittite was a source of problem and conflict to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau seems to have made choices that would cause problems throughout his life. Remember he sold his birthright for food and now he married someone from a nation that did not acknowledge the one true God. It is difficult to follow God when married to someone that is in opposition to God. And this is why Isaac and Rebekah were so concerned.

Covenants of God versus Man

12/24/2013

23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. 26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. 30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink (Genesis 26:23-30).

The wording in verse 24 is interesting. Notice that it is for Abraham’s sake that God was with Isaac. The original promise of God was to Abraham, and remember righteousness was credited to Abraham. Righteousness therefore was also credited to the heirs of the covenant; in this case Isaac. God’s covenant is for the purpose of saving a people for Himself. Contrast this with the covenant made between men (Isaac and Abimelch). Covenants of men are dependent on the faithfulness of often unfaithful men. Covenants of men therefore change, are broken, and often result in failure. Not so with God.

Nothing new under the sun

12/23/2013

15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. 17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land (Genesis 26:15-22).

The battle for natural resources is not new. In Isaac’s day water was a natural resource of concern. Water was essential for life. By altering the water supply enemies could bring destruction upon their foes. So this fact should not be lost on us. The people of Abimelech were enemies of the people of Abraham. While Abimelech feared the God of Abraham, at least in some form his people held the decedents of Abraham in contempt. And so the battle was on, a battle for resources and ultimately land; nothing new under the sun.

When it works out

12/22/2013

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. 13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: 14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him (Genesis 26:12-14).

When God is for you, who could be against you? This was the case with Isaac. God was for Isaac on the account of Abraham. But as when anyone is on the account of another, there ought to be mindfulness of our true position regardless of the other’s position. That position is one of submission, and grace. Grace is unmerited and totally dependent on the provider of grace and so it is with God,; we are in submission to His will and should acknowledge tat His will is best for us. So our account is paid in full, by our savior, even the Lord Jesus Christ.

It worked out, but

12/21/2013

8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death (Genesis 26:8-11).

So Isaac’s lie worked out. Maybe it was justified, but there were a lot of problems with it. Chiefly, he placed his wife in danger to save his own skin. And while it worked out, I find it hard to believe this was the Godly way to handle the situation. God does not punish Isaac and in fact says very little about the situation (He actually blesses Isaac). But we should not draw the conclusion that God wanted Isaac, or for that matter needed Isaac to, rely on deception and downright deceit to save himself. God is more powerful than that. We would do well to remember that God called the Universe into existence. Surely therefore, He can provide a way of true salvation. And we now know that He does just that.

History repeats

12/20/2013

1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. 6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon (Genesis 26:1-7).

God appeals to Isaac to be faithful and listen to what God commands. Isaac though appears to be inpatient in this case. He ends up lying about Rebekah and telling Abimelech that Rebekah is his sister. You would think that Abimelech, after being burned in a likewise manner by Abraham, would have been suspicious of Isaac. Alas, like father like son. Isaac made the same lie to same man as his father. The problem here is not just deceit but the inability to allow God to provide. Although God does provide for Isaac and this situation works out in the end, it is hard to imagine that this is exactly what God wanted Isaac to do. But, God, who had already promised delivers in spite of what his people did.

The problem with a short-term view

12/19/2013

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright (Genesis 25:27-34).

These details may seem peculiar to us, but they are very significant. It was prophesized that Esau would serve Jacob. We know from these verses that this was a result of Esau giving up his birthright for food. Now it can be argued here that Jacob was cunning and that he should have just fed his brother rather than bribe him, but the point of this passage is that Esau’s motivation was purely on temporary and immediate concerns rather than on living up to long-term expectations. Esau did not value his future past his immediate needs.

Created Through Him