…the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2:6-7
How Jesus loved people
Jesus showed up. Jesus, The Christ, blessed us with His presence. Jesus, the One who was the Word, and was God. The One who was with God in the beginning. The One through whom all things were made. He became the Light of all mankind. (John 1:1-5)
In fact, no one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God. (John 1:18) He became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)
Jesus, who was God, the Creator of all things, the One who lived with the Father, Jesus, The Christ, He became one of us.
How you can too
That’s what Jesus did. He lowered Himself. Even though we’re but dust and ashes, Jesus came to us. He showed up. He blessed us by initiating a relationship with you, with me, with all of humankind.
You have the opportunity to do the same. You might have a desire to bless the big man on campus with your presence. Or you might have a desire to bless the most popular people with your friendship. You might want to get to know the most powerful, or the richest, or the most famous people.
But where you really have power to make an impact, is with those people who would be blown away by your company. You know who they are. That shy person. That depressed person. The kid who wears funny looking clothes. The unpopular kid. I’m talking about Raj Koothrappali from the Big Bang Theory here. Or the the guy who’s struggling financially. Or the wallflower. That person who you know will light up when you approach them.
I’m not talking about doing anything special, I’m just talking about having a conversation, showing them a little love, taking two minutes of your time and talking to them. Bless them with your presence.
"Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grows." --Ben Stein
Young man: “Sorry, I’m gaming (alone).”
Old man: “Relationships are everything — life’s about God and people.”
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The young man asked: “Why? Why am I going through this?”
The old man answered: “You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.”
We’ve been studying the life of Jacob for the last few weeks. Jacob, whose father and grandfather were great men of God. But whatever Jacob’s ancestors, including his grandfather Abraham might have accomplished, Jacob has to do his own growing. Jacob was threatened with murder by Esau; exiled from his home town and family; he had to travel through the desert for 450 miles; he was tricked into working an extra 7 years by Laban; he thought he was marrying the woman of his dreams but was tricked into marrying her older, probably unattractive, sister, so he marries both and now lives with constant bickering between the two.
And the really tough part hasn’t come yet.
There’s an old Irish proverb that goes like this:
You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.
How true that is.
Why are you going through this?
Take a look around. Find a man or a woman without trials and tribulations, and you’ll find a person without growth. The really great ones have gone through tough times.
So take heart. Don’t give up. Hang in. Move forward — in Christ’s name.
There are better days ahead. For…
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
In chapter 29 we saw the that the LORD had compassion on Leah. Because of the resentment or lack of love that Jacob had for her, God blessed Leah with four sons. Rachel, up to this point, has been barren. We also saw how God chastised Jacob. He gave Jacob a dose of his own medicine when Laban duped Jacob into marrying Leah. Finally we saw that basing our emotional response on our tiny limited perspective is a misguided misuse of our energies, because God’s plan is so big, that only He will ever be able to see the whole picture. (See previous post on Genesis 29 — When morning came, there was Leah!)
Genesis 30
So Leah has given birth to four sons. And all this time Rachel hasn’t conceived. At that time, in that culture, an inability to bear children was a source of great shame to a woman. So perhaps not surprisingly, Rachel became distraught. She became jealous of Leah. She saw her sister’s success in child bearing as a detriment to herself personally. Jealousy is an interesting emotion. In some ways it’s the opposite of love. I love my kids. I love my wife. Consequently, I’m rooting for them, I’m excited to see them do well. Jealousy, on the other hand, results in just the opposite. When Rachel saw Leah doing well in bearing children, she wasn’t happy about it at all. On the contrary, she was filled with remorse, with bitterness, with jealousy.
(BTW, 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love — He’s for you, He rejoices in your victories, it’s His desire to see you blessed, and He delights in seeing you do well. The Bible also tells us that God is a jealous God. (Exodus 20:5) However this is in the context of worshiping idols and shouldn’t be confused with the type of jealousy referred to in our story about Rachel and Leah. One of the definitions of jealousy is “vigilance in maintaining or guarding something.” (see Dictionary.com) That’s the type of jealousy that’s God’s. His jealousy is that of someone who loves us so much that He guards us jealously, against those other gods who would lead us astray. If your son or daughter came home and announced that they were completely enchanted by a man he or she met, who happens to be a leader in the Italian Cosa Nostra, you’d jealously guard them against any further involvement! That’s the type of jealousy God has for me, and for you. I recently heard a celebrity say that she was turned off at a church service when she heard the pastor say that God is a jealous God. What a tragic misinterpretation of the meaning of the word, and a classic example of scripture taken out of context.)
So Rachel finds herself consumed with jealousy. As you and I might sometimes do, she’s looking for a convenient target upon which to express her frustration. And as you and I might sometimes do, she takes it out on her spouse, she says to Jacob, Give me babies! I’ll just die if you don’t!
Jacob becomes angry with her and replies, Am I God? I’m not the one who’s kept you from having children!
So Rachel, perhaps recognizing that her expectations of Jacob were amiss, says, Alright then, let’s do this, here’s Bilhah, my servant girl. Make love to her and she’ll bear children for me. I’ll build my family through her. (Having children “through” a woman’s servant was not an uncommon practice in that society, at that time.)
So that’s what they did. Rachel gave Jacob Bilhah as his wife, and he slept with her. She conceived and gave birth to a son.
Rachel rejoiced, she said, God has vindicated me or judged in my favor; He’s heard my cries and given me a son. And she named him Dan which means, “judge” or “he has vindicated.”
Later, Bilhah conceives again and has a second son. Rachel says, I’ve had a tussle with my sister, and I’ve won. She named him Naphtali which means “my struggle.”
Now Leah sees that the tide has turned. Rachel, through her servant Bilhah, has born fruit a couple of times and during this period, Leah has been fruitless, with respect to childbearing. So she gives Jacob her servant girl, Zilpah, to be his wife. And Zilpah bears Jacob a son. Leah says, Another son, what good fortune! So she names him Gad, which means, “a troop is coming” or, it can also mean, “good fortune.”
Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bears Jacob a second son. And Leah says, I’m so happy! And the women will call me blessed or happy. So, she named him Asher, which means, “happy.”
“The women will call me blessed.” Leah thinks herself blessed if the women in town call her blessed. Both Leah and Rachel are caught up in a calamitous competition as well as a concern for what other people think creating a mess of the relationships in Jacob’s family.
So at this point, each servant of Leah and Rachel has born for Jacob two sons.
Then, in the fall, during the time of the wheat harvest, Leah’s son Reuben comes back from the fields with some mandrakes. Now these mandrakes were a type of weed found in Israel. The top looks somewhat similar to a tobacco plant and the root looks somewhat similar to a turnip, except that the roots often branch out in ways that make them resemble the shape of a person. Perhaps for that reason the superstitious ascribed magical qualities to the mandrake plant. Two of these qualities, falsely attributed, were that of increasing sexual desire and fertility. So when Leah’s son Reuben comes back from the fields with some mandrakes, Rachel’s jealous again, this time she’s jealous that Leah’s come into a supply of mandrakes.
Rachel, desiring some of those mandrakes, presumably to use them as an aphrodisiac with Jacob, says, Please, give me some of those mandrakes that your son Reuben brought in.
But Leah says, Isn’t it enough that you monopolize all of my husband’s time? You’ve taken him away from me. And now you want my mandrakes too?
All right, all right, if you give me the mandrakes, you can sleep with him tonight, Rachel says.
At the end of the day, as Jacob’s coming in from working the harvest, Leah comes out to meet him. She says, You’re sleeping with me tonight. Reuben found some mandrakes and I’ve traded them to Rachel for one night with you. I’ve hired you out. So he complied and he spent the night with Leah. (I find it amusing that Jacob doesn’t appear to have a whole lot of say in any of this.)
God is again sensitive to Leah’s plight, and she becomes pregnant, and bears Jacob a son, the fifth from Leah. Leah says, (mistakenly, I believe), In reward for giving my servant to my husband, God has given me a son. So she names him Issachar, which sounds similar to the Hebrew word for reward.
Later, Leah becomes pregnant again, and gives Jacob a sixth son. She says, God’s given me a precious gift. Now that I’ve given him six sons, my husband will treat me with honor. So she named him Zebulun, which means, “honor.”
Later she gave birth to, Jacob and Leah’s last child, a daughter. She named her Dinah. It’s not surprising that Dinah is given the least amount of ink here in the Old Testament scriptures. In those times, women weren’t valued the way they are today. It’s through Jesus’ influence that the cultural patterns have been changed. Before Christ every culture devalued women. He’s the One who’s brought us to the place where no sex is superior. Are the sexes different? Of course. But is one superior over the other? No. Through Christ we’ve come to recognize the equality of not just the sexes, but of everyone. The thing that God hates is an attitude of one person lifting himself or herself over another. It’s an attitude that the LORD detests. There are similarities in all of us, we all have value in God’s sight and we’ve all sinned. We’re equal in Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) (Chuck Smith)
So Leah’s given birth to seven children, and it would seem that poor Rachel will never give Jacob any sons or daughters other than those that might come through her servant. But God, He remembers Rachel, and He listens to her pleas, and finally, after all this time, He provides for Rachel a son. She gives birth and says, God has taken away my disgrace. She named him Joseph which means, “may he add,” because she said, May the LORD add to me another son. A sad commentary on human nature — God gives Rachel a son and her response is, “may he add,” or, give me more.
Look to Christ and do your part
So what do you think, about Rachel’s expectations of Jacob? When she demanded, Give me children, or I’ll die! Is that realistic? Jacob’s already had four sons with Leah, so everybody including Rachel knows that he’s biologically capable, he’s fertile. Rachel’s expectations of Jacob are completely misplaced. Her fulfillment doesn’t lie with Jacob.
Another person who had unrealistic expectations is found in the story of Namaan, the Syrian General, a man whom the Bible says was a valiant soldier. (2 Kings 5:1) He was in charge of all the armies of Syria which would be similar to the rank of Colin Powell when he served as the Secretary of Defense for the United States. Namaan was a man of high rank and great renown but he was also a leper. Now an Israeli slave girl, who served Namaan’s wife, mentioned that Namaan could be healed of his leprosy, if he would only go to Israel and seek out the prophet of God, Elisha. Namaan did as the Israeli girl said to — sort of. He went to the king of Israel, instead of to God’s prophet. He had a letter in hand from the king of Syria directing the king of Israel to heal Namaan. The king of Israel’s response? He tore his clothes and said, Am I God, that I can heal this guy? (Sound familiar?) Namaan was putting his hope in the wrong person. His expectation was that a great general like himself would receive what he needed from the head of the Israeli nation, not from God through his prophet Elisha.
So the prophet Elisha hears about Namaan and tells the king of Israel to send him on over. So Namaan, the great general, arrives at Elisha’s place and expects, I imagine, to be welcomed like a great dignitary. But Elisha doesn’t even come out of the house. Instead he sends a servant to tell Namaan to wash in the Jordan river seven times.
Namaan is livid! He didn’t get the reception he expected, and he didn’t get the remedy he expected either. Elisha didn’t bestow upon Namaan the keys to the city. Elisha didn’t lay hands on him and call out to heaven with great fanfare. Elisha didn’t even show up!
So the king wasn’t the only person in whom Namaan mistakenly put his hope, he also put his hope in a face to face meeting with Elisha. With his expectations violated and left only with the instructions from Elisha’s servant to wash in the Jordan, Namaan tells his entourage to pack up and head for home.
Then some of his servants say something that makes quite a lot of sense: Hey Namaan, they say. What if you were to just do what you’re supposed to do. I mean, if the king of Israel, or the prophet Elisha had given you some elaborate and difficult task to accomplish in order to be healed, wouldn’t you have done it? So what do you have to lose? Why not just do your part? Why not just do what you’re supposed to, wash in the Jordan seven times, and see what happens?
So Namaan does what he’s supposed to do, what the LORD through Elisha told him to do, and Namaan is healed of his leprosy.
The whole point is this, initially Naaman mistakenly put his hope in the wrong people. The king wasn’t where the answer would be found, and really, even Elisha, in and of himself, didn’t have the answer. Initially Naaman had some unrealistic expectations, but eventually, he did what he was supposed to do. Eventually, he focused on his part. And the LORD healed him. Rachel, rather than getting hung up on what she expects of Jacob, and what she hopes for Leah, no more kids, would have done well to focus on the LORD and what He has in mind for her. Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3) The LORD is the key, not Jacob. It may take awhile, it took Namaan seven baths in the Jordan river, it might take seven weeks, or seven months, or seven years for Rachel to become pregnant. Or she might bear fruit in a way that she never even expected. But the only thing for her to do is to focus on God and what He would have her do. That’s our lot: to obey, and to wait, and to put our hope in Him. (John 14:15, Psalm 27:14)
I know a thirty something whose company relocated from Oregon to Southern California at the end of 2011. He was offered the opportunity to relocate but, like most of the other employees at this particular company, what they offered made the move financially undo-able. So he faithfully continued to work at this place without resentment, giving his best right to the end of his tenure. Then he poured his energy into finding a new job, researching the job market thoroughly, carefully crafting a resume, reaching out to his network, submitting applications, he’s doing what he knows the LORD would have him do. I don’t hear him talking badly about his former employer. With his eyes on Christ, he’s focused on doing his part, taking care of his end. It’s been awhile but his efforts are starting to bear fruit. In fact he has an interview on Monday, and requests from recruiters are starting to come in.
In contrast to Rachel, Hannah is a great example of someone who responded well to her barren condition. Comparing the two: Rachel was jealous of Leah; Hannah wept unto the LORD. Rachel nags and badgers Jacob; Hannah submissively seeks help from God. After receiving a son, Rachel asks for another; Before she even had a son, In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life…” 1 Samuel 1:10-11
Rachel demanded children, and she died in childbirth after delivering her second; Hannah asked the LORD for one child, then she had four more.
Maybe you’re waiting on the LORD for something today: for a job, or a wife, or a husband, or a child. Maybe you’ve been looking to your husband, or wife, or boss, or mother, or father, or teacher, or Christian friend, or elder, or pastor to fulfill that need. If that’s your situation then recognize that the LORD is where your answer lies. One of the greatest statements that John the Baptist ever made was, “I am not the Christ.” (John 1:20) John the Baptist is not the Christ. Neither was Jacob. Neither was the king of Israel for Namaan. Neither is your husband, or wife, or boss, or pastor, or whoever. Focus on Him and the things you know He has for you to do. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14) The time of fruit bearing will come. For if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:25)
Put your hope in Him.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5
Genesis 30:1-24
1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son.6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
We hear it from our pastors at church. We read it in books. We hear it from each other.
Has anyone out there actually tried to put it these things into practice? You might find the response of those around you to be interesting.
In a culture that values activity, you might find that in the eyes of many, being a prayer warrior doesn’t count for much. Time in God’s word may be perceived by some as time wasted. When you’re praying, when you’re reading God’s word, you’re not physically doing. You’re not producing, at least in the world’s eyes.
It’s been said that the United States runs on coffee. Santa Fe Springs, California alone has 560 Starbucks stores within 25 miles. And in the last five or ten years we’ve moved beyond coffee. We have a plethora of energy drinks available to us that give us wings, right? Monster Energy, 5 Hour Energy, Red Bull…
“Go, go, go.”
“Do, do, do.”
“But I’m praying,” you say.
“But I’m reading God’s word,” you explain.
“Hey,” enough of that. “Get it in gear!” If not said outright, the expression on the faces of some say it clearly enough.
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m a believer in work. A number of years ago I read an article about geniuses and they all had one thing in common: they were prolific. They produced. They produced more great works than their contemporaries, and they even produced more mediocre work than their contemporaries. More recently Malcolm Gladwell writes of how he can’t find anyone at the top of their field who hasn’t put in at least 10,000 hours of work before they became successful. That’s 20 hours per week, for ten years. (Gladwell, Outliers)
Work is important. Work is essential. Getting things done is important. God can’t direct you if you’re not moving. You can’t navigate a boat if you leave it sitting at the dock.
So I’m not talking about using prayer and reading scripture as an excuse to be lazy or slothful. In a study by the Catholic church based on confessions, slothfulness was the third most common sin confessed, among men. (see article from the UK Telegraph) So laziness or slothfulness is definitely something to watch out for.
What I am saying is, although time spent working is of course essential, all those things you’ve heard about concerning how good it is to spend time with the Lord — they are absolutely true! Time with the Lord is time well spent! Whether in prayer, or in His word, or in church, or in worship. It’s time well invested. Ideally your time spent with Him will result in your activity being directed by the Holy Spirit. My hope and prayer is that your time and my time spent with Him will result in our work being born of God, coming from the Lord instead of from ourselves.
Billy Graham was asked recently,
If you could, would you go back and do anything differently?
Yes, of course. I’d spend more time at home with my family, and I’d study more and preach less. I wouldn’t have taken so many speaking engagements, including some of the things I did over the years that I probably didn’t really need to do—weddings and funerals and building dedications, things like that. Whenever I counsel someone who feels called to be an evangelist, I always urge them to guard their time and not feel like they have to do everything.
I also would have steered clear of politics. I’m grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to people in high places; people in power have spiritual and personal needs like everyone else, and often they have no one to talk to. But looking back I know I sometimes crossed the line, and I wouldn’t do that now.
Spending time with Him is good. I hope what I’m sharing today will encourage you to carve out time with Him. But because our culture so values activity for activity’s sake, if you’ve just decided to embark on a new quest to spend quality time with Christ, if you’ve purposed in your heart to devote significant time each day to be with Him, brace yourself, steel yourself, prepare yourself. Some of the people around you may not recognize the value in what you’re attempting to do. You may even be surprised by who some of those people are. But be strong and of a good courage. (Joshua 1:9) Continue to seek Him.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
In chapter 27 we saw Jacob, with the help of Rebekah, trick his father Isaac into giving him the blessing instead of Isaac’s oldest son Esau. Isaac made Jacob lord over all his relatives and servants, and sustained him with grain and new wine. A double portion of the inheritance was now due to Jacob upon the passing of Isaac. (see previous posts on Genesis 27: When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes and I blessed him)
Afterwards Esau was enraged. So enraged that he plotted Jacob’s death — he said, After our father passes away and the days of mourning are over, I’ll kill my brother Jacob.
Word got back to Rebekah about what her older son Esau had said. So she sent for Jacob and let him in on it.
She said, Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. So here’s what you’re going to do: Get some supplies together and get out of here. I want you to go to my brother Laban’s place in the town of Harran. Stay with Laban for awhile until Esau cools down. When your brother’s anger subsides I’ll send word to you and you can come back.
Then, I imagine, in part to move her plot forward to rescue Jacob from Esau, and in part because she really did struggle with the behavior of Esau’s Hittite wives, Rebekah went to speak with Isaac.
Rebekah gave Isaac a very strong hint: I’m disgusted with living because of the Hittite women who Esau took for wives. If Jacob were to take a wife from the Hittites, I think I’d lose my mind.
Genesis 28
So, perhaps recognizing that Esau might kill Jacob, and also recognizing that Rebekah is distraught with Esau’s Hittite wives, Isaac calls for Jacob and gives him direction.
Isaac says, Don’t marry a woman from the land of Canaan. Go to Paddan Aram where your mother’s brother, your uncle Laban lives. Find a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban. And May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” (v.3-4)
Did you catch that? Isaac said, “May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers… and may he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham…” The first time he blessed Jacob, Isaac did so unwittingly. This time he does so intentionally because Isaac and Jacob are reconciled! How good it is to be reconciled with someone with whom we’ve had a falling out. That’s the work of God’s Son, to reconcile us to each other and to God Himself. So important is reconciliation to Jesus that He tells us, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-3-24)
Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, to Laban’s place in Haran which is about 450 miles away. To the brother of Jacob’s mother Rebekah.
God provided a servant to go to the very same place to fetch a wife for Jacob’s father Isaac. But Jacob will have to fetch his own. It’s ironic that Jacob, the one who received the birthright and the blessing, the one who received the double portion of Isaac’s very large inheritance, the one upon whom authority was given over all of Isaac’s household, the one who is promised the land of Canaan, should be chased out of town with only the possessions he can carry and with authority over no one, because he has to travel alone. This is a good reminder for you and for me that God’s promises often don’t line up with our current circumstances. But in the end His way will always prove best — even if we don’t see the outcome this side of heaven. Remembering how He provided a bride for Isaac is a good reminder that God doesn’t work the same way in every life. He works one way in one life and another way in the next person’s life. Even salvation is worked out differently for each of us as Paul said to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phillipians 2:12)
So Esau hears what happened, that Isaac had sent Jacob off to Laban’s place to take a wife and Esau learns that Isaac told Jacob specifically, Don’t marry a woman from the land of Canaan. And he also learned that his little brother Jacob had obeyed and had left for Laban’s. Esau then realizes what a problem it has been for his mother and father, for him to have wives from the tribe of the Hittites. So he goes to Ishmael, Issac’s half brother, and marries Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. So Mahalath becomes his wife in addition to the two Hittite women. This speaks of the power of a good example (Jacob’s example in this case). A good example can influence even those with whom we’re at odds. Although it can be argued that Esau’s effort came too late and fell too short.
Meanwhile Jacob leaves and sets out for Laban’s place. When the sun had set he stopped for the night. He found a stone lying around nearby and used it for a pillow as he lay down to sleep.
Close your eyes for just a minute and picture with me Jacob’s situation: Jacob, fleeing for his life, promised great blessing by his earthly father Isaac but currently possessing very little, sleeping on a stone. Emerson once said about tough times, “When it’s dark enough, you can see the stars.” So often it’s when you or I hit hard times that we find ourselves able to see something of heaven. So often it’s when you’re in trouble that you’re able to feel God’s presence. So often it’s when you’re between the rock and the hard place that you experience God communicating with you. So it was with Jacob.
While he slept he had a dream. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced a dream that was so vivid that it seemed real. I once had a dream that I was engaged in spiritual warfare. The dream appeared to be so real that I woke up in mid sentence, commanding some bad…, some bad…, some bad I don’t know what they were — bad angels? Bad men? Bad spirits? Any way, I woke up with my heart racing and in mid sentence commanding them, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to be gone! Well I imagine Jacob’s dream as falling into this realistic dream category, a stunning and very vivid dream — so vivid it seemed to be real. It must have been, to have left such an impression on him, as we’ll see.
In his dream Jacob saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (v.12-15)
Notice first of all that Jacob, though he thought he was alone, wasn’t alone at all. The LORD was with him. The God of Abraham and Isaac was right there, with him, in that very quiet and lonely place. Are you alone? Did you know God tells us very specifically, if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. (James 4:8) Ask Him to come near. Get away from your phone, from your computer, from your TV. Seek out a quiet place, a place similar to where Jacob slept. Once there ask Him to draw near. You’ll be surprised at what happens. You’ll be blown away, I promise you. Try it and see.
Notice also that the LORD didn’t speak to Jacob while Jacob was in a pattern of good behavior. Jacob whose name means “The Heel Snatcher” had just cheated his own brother out of his birthright and his blessing. Yet God chose to speak to him, and to bless him, at this low point in his life. It’s yet another example of how God operates. In Jacob’s life we see that God is full of grace toward Jacob. And He’s full of grace toward you and toward me.
The dream itself is fascinating. The LORD’s position at the head of the ladder speaks of God’s sovereign and supreme position in the universe. The angels climbing up and down speak of the constant correspondence between heaven and earth. God’s directives are being carried out by the angels descending from heaven. And the angels ascending picture how all that occurs on earth is being communicated to heaven.
The LORD tells Jacob that he’ll be blessed in the same way as Abraham and Isaac. He’s told that he’ll be blessed in four ways:
1) Jacob will receive the land of Canaan. This is an extension of God’s promise to Abraham down to the third generation.
2) Jacob, this man on the run, who before he went to sleep must have felt like a branch that had been cut off, is now given the great promise that he’ll bear abundant fruit, producing descendants that will be like the dust of the earth.
3) Jacob’s also blessed with the promise that it’s through him that all peoples on earth will be blessed. All peoples on earth would be blessed because, Messiah, Jesus the Christ, would come through Jacob’s family line. (Matthew 1, Luke 3) And all peoples on earth are blessed by Him. All peoples. Everyone will be included, every nation, every race, every religion. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) Every single person will be blessed — the only ones excluded will be those who exclude themselves.
4) Finally, Jacob, who’s running in fear; Jacob, who’s running for his life, is told by God Himself that He, God, will watch over him.
Jacob alone? Not by a long shot. And neither are you alone. Draw near to Him and see what happens to your life. You’ll be blessed also.
When Jacob woke up he thought to himself, I didn’t realize it but the LORD is in this place.
You may not realize it, but like Jacob, whether you realize it or not, God is with you. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) Take time to seek Him.
The dream was so striking and God’s presence so overwhelming that Jacob was afraid. He said aloud, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven. (v.16-17)
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Before this all happened that place was called Luz, but Jacob renamed it — he called it Bethel which means house of God. On his way back from Haran, Jacob will build an altar in that very same spot.
Then Jacob made a vow, he said, If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth. (v.20-22)
The Ladder that joins us with God
You may not have heard this but hundreds and hundreds of years after Jacob’s dream; hundreds of years later in history, someone important commented on Jacob’s dream of God, the angels, and the ladder. He shared an answer to a mystery concerning this dream. An answer that unlocks one of the great mysteries of life. He answered the question,
“What or who is the ladder itself?”
In other words, what connects you and me, living here on earth, with God and heaven? What transcends the separation between humankind and God?
It was Jesus who answered that question. Jesus Himself referred to Jacob’s dream when He said to Nathanael,
“Very truly I tell you,you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
(John 1:51)
He’s your Ladder, He’s the conduit, He’s your connection to God and heaven. Jesus is the ladder.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Genesis 28
1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
It’s been three weeks since we looked at Genesis chapter 27. When we did we looked at the story of Jacob stealing the blessing in its entirety. Today I want to revisit this chapter and explore Isaac’s blessing and blessings in general. Specifically we’ll look at four aspects of a parents blessing upon his or her child: touch, appraisal, positive prediction, and continued commitment.
Blessings are a big deal. So serious is the Jewish tradition concerning blessings that it’s written in the Talmud: “It is forbidden to taste of the pleasures of this world without a blessing.” A father or mother’s blessing upon his or her child is one of the most important types of blessings of all. As a parent, you and I can learn from Isaac’s pronounced blessing.
1) Touch
Verses 26 and 27 say, Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.” So he went to him and kissed him.
So we see that Isaac began his blessing with a touch.
You might not realize it but touching people is one of the most powerful means of blessing people that you have. Studies on touch show that patients touched by their doctor perceived their visits to have lasted twice as long as patients who weren’t touched. Students who were touched by their teachers were twice as likely to volunteer in class. The human touch can ease depression. The human touch can improve relationships.
In a Cal Berkley study touches among teammates on NBA teams were measured. Among all NBA teams the top two touchers were the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers — the last two NBA champions at the time of the study. New York Times .
A former counselor once told me that a patient of his came back to visit him a few years after her counseling sessions had ended. She was doing extremely well and credited my counselor friend with her improvement.
“What was it that made the difference?” he asked, “The wisdom I shared? My insights into your family life perhaps?”
“No,” she replied. “It was the hugs.”
Imagine with me what it must have meant to the leper that Jesus touched in Mark chapter 1. In Jewish society at that time, it was illegal to touch a leper — illegal. Lepers walked while speaking the warning, “Outcast, unclean. Outcast, unclean,” so people could stay clear and completely avoid any possibility of touching. It’s hard to think of someone who would crave the touch of another human being more. Disregarding man’s law Jesus reached out. His physical touch accomplished amazing things with the leper. I want to encourage you to get in the habit of physically touching those you love. And beyond that, find others who will be encouraged by your touch — you know who they are. Show people God’s love. Do as Jesus did — touch them.
A man with leprosycame to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Mark 1:40-42
Also when the people took their children to Jesus he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:16)
In our story in Genesis 27, when it came time to pronounce the blessing, Isaac began with a touch. Mom, dad, you can make such a difference in the life of your kids if you make a point of showing them love through pure and tender touching. And specifically, when you pronounce blessing upon them, touch them while doing so.
2) Appraisal
Verse 27 says that …he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.”
When I was a firefighter one of my coworkers who was responsible to perform employee performance evaluations always used to title them with the words “Performance Appraisal.” I liked that. Appraisal sounds so much more affirming and encouraging than the word evaluation. I think that’s the idea behind this part of Isaac’s blessing. He gives an assessment, in a positive and encouraging way, of how he, Isaac, perceives his son. Dad, mom, you’ll do well if you do the same. Sharing your wisdom and insight into your son or daughter’s strengths will help them to become aware of what gifts they’ve been given by the LORD. You might be surprised at how your son or daughter responds if he or she hears on a regular basis, “These are the talents that God has blessed you with. This is what is great about you!”
3) Positive Prediction
“May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” (verses 28-29)
Not only will our kids benefit from hearing what we see in them presently but they’ll also benefit from hearing what we see in their future.
A few years before pastor Chuck Smith, of Calvary Chapel fame, was born his sister stopped breathing when she succumbed to spinal meningitis. His mother, in a panic, carried her to a church just a few blocks from their home where the pastor there told her to take her eyes off her daughter and to focus on Jesus. So, taking the pastor’s advice, Mrs. Smith prayed to Jesus fervently. She told Him that she’d serve Him in ministry or any other way He desired if He would only heal her daughter. And her daughter, Chuck’s sister, Virginia was indeed healed. A few years later Chuck was born and his mother told the Lord that it was through Chuck that she would fulfill her vow. From that point forward she treated her son Chuck as a pastor in training! She read scripture to him often. She taught him to read by the age of four and had Chuck read scripture to her. She treated him as though he were destined for ministry and of course he ultimately became one of the most influential pastors of our generation. Chuck started Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa which, in and of itself, would be a great accomplishment for anyone. But beyond that, as a result of Chuck’s influence, today there are 1,400 Calvary Chapel style churches in the United States alone. (See 1/5/2012 Greg Laurie interview with Chuck Smith)
My pastor talks often of the environment you find in the home of an Orthodox Jewish family. In such a family the parents talk about their grade school age kids as though they’ve already become a doctor, or a lawyer, or a scientist. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why there are a disproportionately greater number of Jewish doctors, lawyers, and scientists! I’m not a name it and claim it guy but there’s definitely a positive dynamic that occurs when we talk to our kids about the positive possibilities for their future.
4) Continued Commitment
After Isaac blessed Jacob Esau showed up and, concerning Jacob, Isaac told him, “I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” (v. 33)
When Jacob asked Isaac what blessings there might be left available for him Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?” (v. 37)
We see here that Isaac is committed to standing by his blessing. He’s committed to supporting Jacob regardless of opposition, difficulties, or trouble.
I know of a man who for years rose up every morning before work and quietly made his way to the bedroom of each of his sons. One at a time he laid his hands on them and prayed blessing on them. This man’s sons are grown now, they’re adults — and every one of them is greatly blessed.
We can bless our children–and indeed they will be blessed if we make a continued commitment to them through prayer.
This is what Job did for his children when early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them… (Job 1:5)
The Anatomy of a Pronounced Blessing
I would encourage you to practice pronouncing blessing upon your children. Blessing that incorporates the four dimensions of a blessing discussed in this post. And beyond that I would encourage you in day to day life to touch your kids in a pure, loving, and tender way. To appraise them, share with them your insights into the gifts and talents that God’s blessed them with. To offer positive predictions of what they’re future holds. And to continually commit to them in prayer.
It’s God’s pattern for you and for me on how we can bless our kids demonstrated by Isaac. Follow His pattern and your kids will be blessed indeed.
And so will you.
The Ultimate Blessing
Jacob disguised himself as Esau in order to trick his father into blessing him but you and I don’t have to do that. For you to be blessed you can approach the One who possesses the ultimate blessing just as you are. In fact the very purpose of His blessing prescribes that He accept you as you are, with all your faults and flaws and failures. Because Jesus died for all of your faults, flaws, and failures — so you can be reconciled to God. So it doesn’t matter what you’ve done or what you are. You can come to Him for help.
Do you surf porn? Bring yourself to Him.
Are capable but not providing for your family? Come to Christ.
Are you filled with anger? Go to Him.
Are you filled with pride? Give yourself to Jesus.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God give you heaven’s dew
and earth’s richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
A firefighter friend of mine (mentioned in this post) was recently baptized by our Chaplain in a portable fire water tank similar to the one pictured here
The top 5 most popular posts for 2011
In reverse order from the fifth most popular to the first, here they are:
In the 1960s 5% of live births in the United States were to single mothers. Today that number is 42%. In 1960 77% of women and 65% of men had left home, finished school, become financially independent, married, and had their first child by age 30. Today that number is 46% for women and only 31% for men. The bottom line is that people today are taking longer to grow into mature adulthood and the cultural influences on marriage today are damaging. So I suppose then that I shouldn’t be surprised at the interest in this post. I wrote it in September of 2010 and it still remains in the top 5 today.
The longer I’m alive the more I recognize the truth in Abraham’s statement to the LORD that I am nothing but dust and ashes. (Genesis 18:27) In fact today scientists know that all of the elements that make up the human body are found in the dust of the earth — just as the Bible describes. And if someone were to collect and separate all of those elements found in your body, and sell them, you would be worth only a few dollars.
This post isn’t primarily about our lowly earthy condition but is mainly about the dramatic difference that God’s Spirit can make in your life. I wrote it in July of 2010 and it’s popularity continues.
This is about how Abraham’s adventures serve as an illustration of what you can expect to encounter in your life as a follower of Jesus Christ. I think most people don’t realize what they signed up for when they became a Christian. This post is an explanation of just that, an explanation of what you’ve signed up for. What you find will surprise you.
This Post’s about our window of opportunity to accept God’s offer of salvation. God says to you and He says to me, yes you can go to hell, but it’ll be over My dead body. While you’re still alive here on earth you have the opportunity to accept the ultimate sacrifice of His Son who died on your behalf.
I also talk about how a firefighter friend of mine serves as an example of someone who lives as a man should live while facing great adversity. By the way just a few weeks ago he was baptized in a fire department portable water tank similar to the one pictured at the beginning of this post.
The popularity of this post far exceeds any of the others from the top five. Most of what I write has to do with the life of Christ, scripture, and God’s kingdom but when I read this story I couldn’t help but speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves… (Proverbs 31:8) Apparently this post resonates.
Since I wrote it a baby’s been born at 24 weeks which is the third smallest baby born on record. Her name is Melinda Star Guido, she was born on Aug. 30, 2011 and she weighed just 9 ounces — about the same as two iPhones. If you’re interested you can read more at the UK newspaper link for The Daily Mail.
On behalf of everyone who makes this blog possible I want to thank you for your interest. I read something recently in the book Heaven is for Real that struck a chord in me. Five year old Colton, who claims to have visited heaven during a near death experience on the operating table, said, “Jesus told me he died on the cross so we could go see his Dad.”
It’s my hope and prayer that the LORD uses this blog to reconcile you to Him.
Orthodox Christian pilgrims gather to enter the Grotto during Orthodox Christmas services at the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem
Wow, what a Christmas season this has been. It’s been one thing after another. There were lights to hang outside and a tree to put up and decorate. We had to travel out of town for awhile. Before I was even back in town the fire department was sending emails requesting that I come back to work for a couple of days before Christmas. Of course there was Christmas shopping to do. I have to find a gift, for Kathy, which is difficult to say the least. Mom’s flying to Seattle to spend Christmas with my sister so I gave her a lift to the airport. The battery went dead in our 1994 Toyota Camry so I had to swap in a new one. Then I had to pick up some family members from the airport. I’m on the phone with my nephew Kassidy who’s coming down for a visit with his family, but maybe not, but maybe so… Kass, just come on down! Skyping with my parents (who are out of town) so they can visit with us, their grandkids, and great grandkids.
Wow.
So now it’s time to put the Christmas Eve and Christmas day plan into action. We’ll get the family together for dinner out on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we’ll get the family and friends together again, have a nice spread, open presents, play some board games, watch a Christmas movie.
Phew, done, made it through another Christmas. Wow. I’m so glad we celebrate the birth of Jesus every year. It’s intense but fun. Without the celebration of the birth of Christ we wouldn’t get the family together the way we do. We wouldn’t exchange gifts. We wouldn’t watch a movie together.
But we did it. We did it all.
Didn’t we? We’re good right? It was another great Christmas.
Wasn’t it?
Let me ask you something. Have you ever hosted a birthday party without inviting the person who was having the birthday?
How many of us do that today? Madison Avenue marketing makes us believe that we can’t live without the new iPod Touch, or the new Kindle Fire, or the latest clothes, or kitchenware, or big screen TV, or the Monster Abbey Bominable Doll with Pet Wooly Mammoth named Shivver (no I didn’t make that last one up, it’s real, and it’s a hot seller).
Hollywood has us believing we need to go see the latest blockbuster movie.
Activision has us believing we need to play Call of Duty MW3.
Never before have we experienced such distraction in our lives. One hundred channels on TV, video games, football, Facebook, Farmville, Netflix (watch movies instantly!)
But that can’t be an excuse to leave Jesus out of Christmas. We can’t get so focused on family, friends, gifts, games, and entertainment, that we leave out the One who we’re supposed to be celebrating.
The One who endured torture and death so you and I can enter into heaven!
If someone had saved your life, physically, here on earth, can you imagine celebrating his birthday without inviting him to the party? So why do you, so why do I drift away from focusing on the Person who we’re supposed to be celebrating this time of year?
LORD have mercy on us.
LORD please forgive us.
Invite Jesus Christ to join you in celebrating His birth this Christmas. Go to church. Read the Christmas story at this year’s gathering. Pray to Him as a group, with family, and friends — give thanks for how He’s blessed you in 2011. Spend time alone with Him. Do something that points to Jesus, that honors Jesus. Do something in remembrance of Him.
The night Jesus was born, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Luke 2:15
Go to church and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told you about, just now, in this blog.
The following story was told by Moran Cerf at the Moth Storytelling competition: themoth.org
Ummm, so ten years ago I used to break into banks to make a living. I used to steal anywhere between a thousand dollars and ten thousand dollars a week or every two weeks. And I was a part of a team of three people — we were hackers. We had a little office in downtown Tel Aviv in Israel, and we’d break into banks and steal their money, then we’d cash it, go back to the owners of the bank, and tell them, look we stole your money. Why don’t you secure your bank better, give us a little bit of that (money), and let us secure your bank, and help you close everything so the bad guys won’t actually steal your money?
I loved this job. I really loved telling that I do this job at parties because it felt like such a cool thing – my life was so exciting. Deep inside I always wanted to be a scientist. I wanted to be a scientist but I felt that I could never have as an exciting life as a scientist as much as I have as a hacker.
So it’s September, 2000, and we have a little job to break into a little bank in Israel, in Tel Aviv. It’s a very small bank, it has very few branches, and we do a pretty good job. We have two weeks to break into it, and after five days we tear it apart. So we can do whatever we want – we can transfer money from one account to another, we can look at all the information of everyone, and we did our job, and I’m ready to just sign off on this thing and send it to the board of directors.
And then Tammy, one of the members of my team, she comes to me and she says, “Have you seen the job description?”
And I say, “Yea, it’s the same one we always get.”
She says, “Yea but did you read it carefully?” She hands me the paper with the job description, and it reads something like, the team can try any means of breaking in: physical, software, infrastructure, blah, blah, blah.
And I say, “Yea what does it mean?”
And she says, “It means we can break into the bank – physically – go and rob the bank. Not just computer breaking (hacking) but actually go and rob the bank…
…and we should do that.”
Now Tammy, she is thirty-five, she just broke up with her boyfriend after nine years because she wanted to have a baby and he didn’t want to have a baby so she broke up with him. And she’s very unstable and I know that, when she comes and says, “Let’s break into the bank.”
And I am the boss and I say, “Well but we don’t know how to break into banks, that’s not our… like we know how to break into banks with computers. We don’t know how to actually go and rob a bank.”
And she says, “Well, you know, how many times in your life do you get to break into a bank and if you get caught, it’s OK because you just did your job and it’s OK, and it’s just a part of the thing. And if you succeed you actually broke into a bank. You live only once, let’s do it! Please, please, please, please. Let’s rob the bank – please, please.”
And I look at her and I start thinking it makes sense, and I say, “OK, let’s rob the bank.”
So the weekend starts and the three of us are learning how to rob a bank. And we don’t know anything about it. And as much as you might think, there’s not much about it on the internet — at the time. So like, we couldn’t find a book that says, Breaking Into Banks for Dummies. So we start looking for ways and it turns out we have to come up with a way ourselves. So we plan a very elaborate way to break the bank which is a little branch up in Northern Tel Aviv that has only one teller so there’s not going to be too much of a crowd there.
And we have one of us, Gian (pronounced John) who’s younger, that is an insider – he’s going to go to the bank first. He’s going to have a little camera on his belly, a hidden camera, he’s going to film everything so if something goes wrong, we’re going to have footage that shows that we didn’t do anything bad.
And Tammy and me, we’re going to go afterwards, and when he signals us that there’s no one else in the bank, so no one’s going to pull a gun or something, and starts freaking out. And we’re going to go and we’re going to rob the bank. We’re going to take a little bit of money from one of the safe boxes that we picked in advance because we have information about the bank. We picked the name of a woman (who we knew would have a small amount of money in her safe box).
So it’s Monday morning, and Gian is inside, and he signals us to come inside. And we come, and we start walking toward the teller, and I start having doubts. I mean I’m not sure how many of you have had the chance to rob a bank in your life, but, it’s really scary. And there’s a moment before you say, “It’s a bank robbery,” where you can still take it back. So you can still walk in, say to the guy, it’s a mistake, and leave, and it’s OK. But once you say, “It’s a bank robbery,” even if you regret it you still said it, and now you have to do something, and it’s complex. And I saw it’s a mistake, and can I leave? So I started hesitating.
But Tammy just broke up with her boyfriend and she doesn’t think anything of it and she goes and says, “It’s a bank robbery, we want you to go to the safe and open 10003.”
And the teller, she’s like a twenty-five year old girl, she’s hardly ever seen a customer in this place ever, and she’s like studying for the SAT. She puts a marker in the book, she stands up like nonchalant, goes with Tammy to the back room, to open the thing.
And now I’m sitting there, and Gian, his job, he’s the youngest, his job was also to use this time to take pictures of the place because we sometimes find people leaving post-it notes with the password next to the computer and we can put it in the report. So his job is to take pictures to find more things that we can actually put in the report – so he’s doing that. And Tammy’s in the back with the teller trying to get open the safe. And I’m sitting there and I don’t remember what I’m supposed to do at the time. I have a few minutes, and I know I have… but now I’m sitting there and I have nothing to do.
So I see Gian there and he’s taking pictures, and he’s pretty short, and he’s finding it hard to take pictures. So I said, “I’m going to help you.” So I put my hands together, and I lift him so he can take pictures from a higher place. And then the teller comes back, and she sees us, and for her it’s just like a customer and a bank robber, because she doesn’t know we’re together. So now she’s really confused to see me helping him to take pictures of the bank robbery. And then she’s starting to smile, she’s like confused, and she goes back and sits in her place.
And then Tammy hands me the little box that she took with the money that we thought we’re going to take from (the lady) – it should be just a couple of hundred dollars. And then I open it, and lo and behold, (the lady) just broke up with her boyfriend a few days before, and she took all her jewelry and put it in the box. And I open it, and I see something that looks like a million dollars worth of jewelry. And now we have no liability for that. We can’t take that.
So I call Tammy and I say, “Look Tammy we can’t take that, we have to put it back.”
She says, “Put it in, (the sack) drop it in, let’s leave.”
I say, “No! It’s too much money. We can’t leave with that. We have to put it back.”
She says, “No!”
And we start fighting there. And the bank teller, she’s kind of amused by us. She’s seen better bank robberies before.
And Gian, he’s seventeen years old. And he’s just finished school and he’s about to go into the army in a few months so he never dated a girl in his life. So he feels it’s his chance to hit on a girl, with the teller. So he goes over, and he starts telling her he’s a part of the team, and he actually planned everything…
And I finally take the box and I say, “I’m going to put it back.”
So I go to the teller and I tell her, “Sorry, please, I just need you to take the key and put it…”
And she gives me the key and says, “Just go yourself. I’m not going back there with you anymore.”
So I’m apologetic and I take the key and I go to the back room to open the safe and put the box back. And I leave everyone behind and I spend a few minutes doing it.
And I come back and I see that Gian is giving his phone number to the teller. And we have this whole debate before hand whether we should or should not wear ski masks so no one’s going to know us. But if you give your phone number and name to the teller then it’s kind of, puts everything in perspective. So he gives that phone number to the teller.
And then, because it didn’t look like a bank robbery, a woman enters the bank with a baby. And she goes in and she starts writing a check because she doesn’t see that anything is weird. So she starts writing a check with the baby and she can’t hold the baby so Tammy, she loves babies, she holds the baby for her, while she writes the check. And now the baby starts crying because its mommy’s writing a check and Tammy holds the baby and she loves babies and she starts singing a lullaby.
She sings (in Hebrew), “Sleep sleep my little child.” It’s very peaceful.
And suddenly she (Tammy) starts crying. Because of the fighting with me, and the bank robbery, and the boyfriend, and the baby she’s starting to cry.
And everything is weird and I said, “Bank breaking is not going to work.” So I pull Gian in one hand and pull Tammy with the other and we just run away to my car and we get into my car and start driving away in silence. And all this time, Tammy is crying next to me and I look at the rearview and I see Gian in the back, he’s smiling, he’s grinning.
He’s going to go on a date tomorrow with the teller.
The bank robbery story is a story of stealing as is the story before us today in Genesis 27. The two stories have a few similarities that we’ll explore later but first in order to review some of the history that led up to this let’s briefly visit the last post. Last post we saw how Esau chose to marry two women who weren’t believers, and how his choices grieved his father and mother Isaac and Rebekah. His marrying unbelievers implies that Esau is still in an unrepentant state, not following his father Isaac’s direction nor his example.
Today we’ll explore the story of Isaac’s blessing, and Esau and Jacob’s competition for that blessing.
Our story begins with a description of Isaac’s current condition.
He’s old. As will happen to all of us who grow old, his body is breaking down. His eyes are so weak that he can no longer see.
He’s blind.
He calls for his older son Esau, Son?
Right here dad, Esau says.
Isaac says, Look, I’m old. I could die at any time. Why don’t you grab your gear — your quiver and bow — and hunt up some game for me. Then cook it just the way I like it and bring it to me to eat. Then I’ll give you my blessing — before I die.
Now Rebekah (who loves Jacob) is just around the corner and she hears the whole thing. So when Esau leaves to go hunt, she says to Jacob, Hey, I overheard your dad tell Esau to go hunt some game and then to come back and to cook it up the way he likes it. Then dad said he would give Esau his blessing in the presence of the LORD before he dies. So I have an idea, listen carefully: Go out to the flock and bring me two of the best goats you can find. I’ll cook them up just how your dad likes it. Then you take it to your father to eat, so that he’ll give you his blessing before he dies, instead of Esau.
Now in Rebekah’s defence, she may be remembering the prophesy of God from Genesis 25 where the LORD told her that the older will serve the younger. (v. 23) It may even be that she favored Jacob from the beginning because of that prophecy. Her error isn’t that she desired to see God’s prophecy come to fruition. Her error is that she took matters into her own hands. Rather than trusting in God’s promises she’s trusting in the activity of her own flesh. Naturally you and I have done the same thing. I don’t know about you but I’ve been there more than once. So it’s hard for me to be tough on Rebekah and Jacob. But I will say that I believe the prophecy would have been fulfilled without Rebekah and Jacob’s interventions. The end doesn’t justify the means, and God will bless who He will without deceitful plots of the flesh.
Wait a minute, Jacob says. Esau’s all hairy and my skin’s smooth. What happens if dad touches me? He’ll realize that I’m trying to trick him, and he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.
Rebekah says, Son, if that happens let the curse fall on me. Just go get the two goats like I said.
So Jacob goes and finds the two best goats he can, and brings them back to his mother, and she prepares them just the way Isaac likes it. Then she takes Esau’s best clothes out of the laundry, probably out of the dirty laundry because it was important that the clothes smell like Esau, and she gives them to Jacob and he puts them on.
Then she quickly cuts up some goat skins and crafts coverings for Jacob’s hands and neck so he’ll feel hairy like his brother.
Then she gives Jacob the meal that she made.
So now the con is set. Jacob takes a deep breath and enters into his father’s tent.
Dad, Jacob says as he enters.
Yes son, Isaac answers. Then he asks, Who is it?
Now, just like the bank robber Moran Cerf talked about, it’s at this point that Jacob is at a crossroads. Before he says the words, I’m Esau your firstborn, Jacob can tell his dad that he came into the tent by mistake, turn around, walk out, and he’s none worse for the wear. But as soon as he says, I’m Esau, things get complicated. Very complicated. Much more complicated than Jacob ever anticipated I’m sure.
Have you ever told a whopper in your own self interest? Do you remember the feeling? Your heart pounds, your breathing increases, your hands get cold and clammy. So Jacob, perhaps with his heart pounding, his breathing rate increasing, his hands feeling cold and clammy — Jacob the heel snatcher lies.
He lies and blurts out, It’s Esau your firstborn. I did what you said. Why don’t you sit up and eat some of the game I killed for you, so you can give me your blessing?
Notice that Jacob wastes no time getting right to the point. He’s probably thinking, Come on, give me your blessing so I can get what I came for and then get out of here.
But it wouldn’t be that simple, not by a long shot. Acting out of the flesh never is. Things always become complicated.
Isaac’s suspicious.
So I have a question, Isaac says. How’d you find it so fast?
Then Jacob does something that breaks my heart. He brings the LORD into it. He says, The LORD your God gave me success.
Then Isaac says, Come over here so I can touch you and see if you’re really Esau or not.
So Jacob comes over and Isaac touches him and says, Your voice is the voice of Jacob, but your hands are the hands of Esau. As he’s feeling the hair of the goat skin gloves that Jacob’s mother made for him.
So he’s convinced enough to take another step toward giving the blessing but before he does he asks, Are you really Esau?
I believe that at this point it would have been better for Jacob to say, No, I’m not, I’m sorry. I can’t go through with this. Dad, can you forgive me?. But he didn’t.
Instead he said, I am.
So Isaac moves forward — incrementally. He says, OK, go ahead and bring me some of your game meat that you cooked up and I’ll give you my blessing.
Jacob brings him the meal and Isaac eats it and Jacob brings him some wine and Isaac drinks then he says, Come here, my son, and kiss me.
So Jacob goes over and kisses him and when Isaac smells his clothes — that’s the clincher.
Isaac seals the deal, he blesses Jacob.
He says:
“Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
Genesis 27:27-29
Later we’ll see that Isaac’s blessing as well as the prophecy in Genesis 25, where God told Rebekah that she had two nations warring in her womb and that the older would serve the younger, both were fulfilled as a result of Jacob’s receiving the birthright and the blessing — Esau would be under Jacob. And both were further fulfilled in 2 Samuel chapter 8 where we see that David, Jacob’s descendant, put garrisons throughout Edom, (Edom was a nation made up of Esau’s descendants) and all the Edomites became subject to David. (v. 14)
Back to our story: After Isaac finishes and almost before the flap of the tent door was completely closed after Jacob’s exit, Esau shows up.
I’m baaa-aack, Esau says in a cheerful voice with his dad’s carefully prepared meal in hand. Why don’t you sit up and have some of this delicious game meat that I made for you? Then you can give me your blessing.
Then Isaac, confused, asks, What’s going on? Who are you?
I’m your son, your firstborn son, Esau.
Slowly, red color rises from Isaac’s neck to his face. Isaac is beside himself. He’s so upset that he begins to tremble uncontrollably: Then who just came in here and fed me game just the way I like it? I ate it. I swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker just before you came. Whoever that was, I blessed him — and indeed he will be blessed.
With anguish and a broken heart Esau cries out bitterly, Please, bless me — me too! Please!
But Isaac replies, Your brother, he came and deceived me and took your blessing.
Esau says with anger and frustration, Isn’t that just the perfect name for him — heel snatcher? That’s twice now that he’s taken advantage. He took my birthright (not exactly true actually as Esau agreed to give up his birthright and the Bible even says that he despised his birthright in Genesis 25:34) and now he’s taken my blessing!
Then he says, Have you saved any blessing for me?
Isaac says, I pretty much gave him everything. I made him lord over you and all of his relatives. I blessed him with grain and new wine. So what can I do now? What could I bless you with? I can’t undo what’s already been done.
But do you have only one blessing? Esau asks. He’s openly weeping now. Please, bless me too.
So Isaac blesses him as best he can. He says:
“Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
Genesis 27:39-40
We’ll see this part of Isaac’s blessing fulfilled in 2 Chronicles chapter 21 where Edom rebels against Judah and sets up its own king.
After that Esau’s sick with rage and resentment. He develops a plan for revenge, he says, After dad dies and the time of mourning is over, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill Jacob for what he did.
Well word gets back to Rebekah about Esau’s intentions toward Jacob so she sends for Jacob and says, Esau is planning to kill you for what you did so do what I say. Get a few things together and get out of here as fast as you can. Go stay with my brother Laban in Harran until your brother’s not angry with you anymore. After he calms down I’ll send word for you to come home. Why should I lose both of you in one day?
Then Rebekah goes to Isaac and says, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.” (v. 46)
And as we’ll see in the next chapter, Isaac buys into Rebekah’s plan for Jacob to travel to Harran — to take a wife from Rebekah’s clan. But he’ll be gone far longer than Rebekah anticipated. In fact she’ll never see him again, in this life, because she passed away before his return.
This is a great word for mothers — over protecting, over engaging, over involving out of the energy of the flesh will just complicate lives and could even result in the loss of your son or daughter. Oh, maybe not a physical loss but quite possibly an emotional loss and perhaps even a loss of faith. According to the Barna Group one of the chief reasons cited for leaving the church by young adults age eighteen to twenty-nine is that they felt overprotected. The LORD knows you love your son. He knows you love your daughter. Put the energy born out of that love into prayer rather than over protection. (You Lost Me by David Kinnaman)
In the end, like the younger bank robber, Jacob will be smiling, because it won’t be long before he’s keeping company with a beautiful woman.
God’s Grace:
There’s a most interesting aspect to this story that I believe is essential for us to understand. Conspicuously absent is a virtuous life pattern demonstrated by Jacob.
Yet Jacob receives the blessing.
Tell me, where is Jacob’s virtue, his integrity, his honesty, his honor? Where do we see Jacob earn God’s blessing? Up to this point his life demonstrates nothing but a pattern of deceitfulness!
There’s no way Jacob could possibly be blessed on merit.
It’s important to understand that what’s important to see here aren’t the faults and flaws of Jacob but rather the grace and mercy of God! Jacob was blessed not because of his goodness but in spite of his deceitfulness.
The story of Jacob receiving the blessing is a great illustration of our hope of receiving God’s blessing by His grace. We can’t do it on our own merit. For you or for me to receive the blessing of our Father in heaven, like Jacob, we need to come dressed in the clothes of our older brother. For Jacob that was Esau, but for us it’s our older Brother Jesus Christ. It’s His fragrance that will move the Father to bless us because when we’re in Christ, then we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:15)
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Romans 9:16 (KJV)
Or as the NIV puts it:
It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 9:16, 11:6
God blesses us because He loves us, not because of the good we do. What good we do is in response to God’s love — and His blessing.
Genesis 27
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“I am,” he replied.
25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”
Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God give you heaven’s dew
and earth’s richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob[a]? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
39 His father Isaac answered him,
“Your dwelling will be
away from the earth’s richness,
away from the dew of heaven above. 40 You will live by the sword
and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
you will throw his yoke
from off your neck.”
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. 44 Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”
Just a friendly heads-up: Moran Cerf’s story is very entertaining and also very clean however the MC of the moth storytelling competition makes some very off color remarks after Moran is finished. These occur after the 8:30 mark on this video.
Last post we saw Isaac’s example of persistence as he dug well after well until he finally found one that worked. Now in verses 34-35 we see that while Isaac was out digging wells, Esau was out taking wives. At the age of forty Esau married two Canaanite women. Unfortunately Esau’s choice of wives wasn’t the best. “They were Canaanites,” you might be saying. “So what’s the big deal?” Good question. I think the issue is the cultural background that they grew up in. There are 139 references to the idols, the pagan gods worshipped by the Canaanites. Their culture is one of paganism, it’s a culture where there’s no room for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God Yahweh. The One who gave Abraham the promise of the Messiah, the One who delivered Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah, the One who fulfilled His promise to Abraham, the promise that Sarah would give birth to Esau’s father well after her child bearing years.
Esau’s parents, Isaac, the one who builds altars to the LORD (Genesis 26: 25), the one who prays in the field seeking God’s best (Genesis 24:63), and Rebekah who followed God’s direction to go with Abraham’s servant to begin a new life, were heart broken and grieved.
Interestingly, as I write this post I’m experiencing the opposite of what Isaac and Rebekah did with Esau. I’m in a waiting room at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital where my nine month old grandson Andrew is recovering from a radical skull reconstruction surgery. His surgeon actually removed the front half of his skull, cut it up into puzzle pieces, then rearranged the pieces to correct a deformity. It’s radical. It’s also emotional. Andrew looks like he just went twelve rounds with Manny Pacquiao. It’s very difficult to watch a nine month old baby in pain to the point where he doesn’t want to be touched. Besides which we’re all sleep deprived and travel weary — we even rub on each other just a bit, on occasion. But unlike Esau, my son Gabe made a great choice when he married his wife Charise and we’ve been reaping the benefits of that choice over the last week (as well as over the last nine years since they’ve been married). What a blessing it’s been. What a blessing it has been for Kathy and I, Gabe, Charise, and Andrew, and Charise’s parents Terry and Susan to have Jesus in common during this difficult time. We’ve prayed over Andrew together, enjoyed discussions about the LORD together, and have just appreciated each other in Christ centered fellowship. We’re tremendously blessed by Gabe and Charise’s decision to be equally yoked.
Jesus tells us that we’re to love on people. He also tells us that we’re to be of the world but not in the world. (Matthew 22:39, John 17) Except for a very few of us who might be called to a monastic lifestyle, we’re not to isolate ourselves from people outside of our faith. You can’t love on the people of the world if you’re not engaged with the people of the world.
So we’re to help people, love on people, witness to people who are on life paths that are of the world. You can and should show the LORD’s love to people of the world as their paths come near or intersect with yours.
But, if you’re yoked with someone on a worldly life path, it’s inevitable that you’ll be drug off the LORD’s path at some point. It’s just a matter of time until the yoke that you share will pull you off course, off the path that God has in mind for you and onto a different path, a worldly path.
Jesus said that, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” (John 15:19) So it’s clear that we’re not of this world. Over the years I’ve observed Christians who attempt to live as a part of the world and they’re life experience is miserable at worst and mediocre at best. You’ll be blessed if you recognize that you do not belong to the world. These aren’t my words but Jesus’.
So even though we’re to love the people of the world, we’re not to yoke ourselves to those of the world. (for those already unequally yoked see 1 Corinthians 7:12-24) Marriage is yoking. Esau yoked himself to wives who were of the world and it grieved Isaac and Rebekah. Yoking yourself to an unbeliever will always cause you grief. Yoking yourself to a believer ultimately results in greater blessings.
I’m watching those blessings unfold right in front of me, right now, here at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Don’t miss out. Paul put it very candidly when he said, Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.
In other words:
Yoke yourself with people who are also of Christ.
Yoke yourself with those who follow Him.
Yoke yourself with others who love Jesus.
If you do you’ll find that God’s spirit will dwell with you and walk among you.
You’ll be blessed.
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
2 Corinthians 6:14-16
Genesis 26:34-35
When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
…the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
