Issac’s Blessing – Part 2 (Gen 27:5-28:5)

Gen 27:5-28:5

The deception of Issac by Jacob to steal Esau’s blessing.

There are tons of things to write about, (conniving, deception, stealing, lying, obedience, blessing, etc.) but I have a question…

In Gen 25:21-28, particularly in v23, the Lord foretells of Esau (the older) serving Jacob (the younger).

22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
The New King James Version. 1982 (Ge 25:21-28). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Here is the question, was Rebekah’s and Jacob’s lying, dishonest, and wrong actions part of God’s sovereign plan? Would Jacob still have received the blessing had he not deceived his father?

Was it God’s will for them to deceive and cheat and steal Jacob’s way into the promise or would God have preferred to do it another way?

Sacrificing Issac

Gen 22:1-19

God commands Abraham to sacrifice Issac.

This is what “TESTING” looks like.  God asks us to do the inconceivable or the improbable or the impossible and we obey, one step at a time – TRUSTING that He knows what He has asked and that it will be taken care of by His hand.  Abraham attitude is this: ” I  know WHAT God has asked me to do.  I don’t know WHERE or HOW He’s asked me to do it, but I will be ready, immediately.”

Abraham didn’t hesitate in obeying. v3 says he rose early in the morning.  Contrast that to Lot leaving Sodom (Gen 19:15-17) to save his own life!  “Save your own skin and your family” vs. “Kill your only son” – which would make more sense in hesitating?

1. God reveals what we need to know, WHEN we need to know it.  “He is seldom early, but never late.”  I have heard many times.  I know this was certainly the case when we adopted our kids from Russia.  There were so many delays and frustrations both during the adoption process and certainly after the adoptions.  Had God revealed everything to us at the beginning, I’m not sure we would have obeyed as we did.  It’s been HARD.  It’s taken its toll on my biological kids and our family in general with 2 of the 3 kids we adopted having RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder).  But, looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing because where I am spiritually with the Lord, where Dawn is with the Lord and where we are as a married couple is far more than I could have ever hoped or imagined.  Would I do it again?  Tough call.

2. God provides what we need to have, WHEN we need to have it (the ram).  This is the second time this theme has come up recently.  The recent post I did on Hagar had the the theme of God’s provision – at the right time – when Hagar found the well (or God created the well – however you want to read it).  This is important – especially in potentially crazy economic times – to remember that He will provide what we need, when we need it.  My problem is that one word… “WHEN”, usually my definition and his definition are not the same – in fact – they rarely are.

It’s all about His timing, His will, His call on my life.  I only have to have the same attitude as Abraham.

“I don’t know WHERE or HOW He’s asked me to do it, but I will be ready, immediately.”

The Tent and The Altar

Gen 12-13

So Abram sets out after his call and God meets with him personally to assure him of his calling.  How cool is that?  After that meeting, Abram builds an altar to the Lord. (v7)

Then Abram goes to Egypt and deceives Pharoah about who Sarai is.  We all know the story.  One of the commentaries I read made an interesting point about this:

What a shame that believing Abraham should be rebuked by an unbelieving king. Until he knew the truth about Sarah, Pharaoh “bestowed favors” upon Abraham, but once God stepped in and exposed the lie, Pharaoh had to ask them to leave. What a poor testimony the Christian is when he or she mingles with the world and compromises. Someone has said, “Faith is living without scheming.” Abraham and all his descendants have needed to learn that lesson! Lot lived with the world and lost his testimony (19:12–14); and Peter sat by the enemy fire and denied his Lord.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the Old Testament (Ge 12:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Then after that debacle, Abram goes back to the place where he built the first altar. (Gen 13:1-4)

1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

I totally relate to this.  How many men have longed to go back to Hunt, or to the place of their Quest where – perhaps for the first time – they really met face to face with God?  Man, I long to be there… in His presence… in that place.  That’s one of the reasons I love to serve on Quests.  From that same commentary:

Abraham could not have confessed his sin and remained in Egypt! No, he had to get back to the place of the tent and the altar, back to the place where he could call upon the Lord and receive blessing. This is a good principle for Christians to follow: go nowhere in this world where you must leave your testimony behind. Any place where we cannot build the altar and pitch the tent is out of bounds.

Great thought to live by…  “Any place we cannot build the altar and pitch the tent is out of bounds.“  In his commentary, Wiersby describes the tent as the pilgrim, the person who trusts God a day at a time and is always ready to move.  He describes the altar as the worshiper who brings a sacrifice and offers it to God.

Restated,  “…any place we cannot worship and offer God our sacrifice and be ready to move in complete trust of Him is no place for the Christ follower.”

Building and pitching…

1 Samuel 15

Pretty famous chapter I think.  Most of us know the story.  Saul is told to go and kill all the Amalekites and everything they own.  Destroy it all God says.  Saul goes in and destroys most of it, but leaves the King and the best of the cattle and what not to sacrifice to God.  Sammy hears about it and God speaks to Sammy.  Saul comes back and talks to Sammy.  Sammy tells him that God is disappointed and has now taken the kingdom of Israel and given it to someone else.  Saul is pissy and cries out to God.  Sammy and Saul never talk again until Saul dies.

This is where we get that obedience is better than sacrifice.  Saul had good intentions when wanting to sacrifice things and worship God like that, but Dad never said to do that.  Dad said kill it all.  Like Saul we hold on to things sometimes and that is dangerous.  We don’t want God to strip us of our title and things and His presence.  The last verse in this chapter might be the saddest verse in the Bible.  Because of Sauls disobedience Samuel never visited him again till his death.  Samuel was the only line to God at that time which means Saul never had another experience or voice or anything from God ever again.  What a sad life, to go from a king that God appointed to never being with God again.  All because of his disobedience and pride.  By the way, a couple times God says He regrets putting Saul in that place.  What does that mean?  Can God regret doing something, wouldn’t that mean He messed up or did something wrong?

1 Samuel 12

So Sammy is giving his farewell to the nation.  He tells them he has given them a king like they asked for, he makes sure he hasnt done anything wrong or screwed the people over and if he has he would make up for it.  He then reminds them a little of what their fathers went through when they decided to go against God.  He tells the people that if they will only turn and follow God that everything will work out well for them, if they dont no bueno.  He scares them by praying to God to bring rain and lightning, God does and they all repent and ask Sammy to pray for their lives so they dont die.  Sammy tells them again to turn from their ways and follow God with their whole heart and everything will be grand.  He ends by saying if they continue to do wicked things than they along with their king will be swept away.

Samuel makes it sound like in vs 23 that by not praying for others would be a sin for him.  Is that true for us?  Also the thing that stuck out to me was the common theme of, “if you will follow God with your whole heart than you and your King will be ok.”  It sounds like the King didnt really have a huge choice in this matter, as if the king were controlled by how the people responded to God.  Is that true for us and our king?  Have we got a king based on how we have responded to God?  I think its cool that Sammy remembers everything about God and what God did for him and his people.  We need to remember and speak out daily what God has done for us.

1 Samuel 9

Saul steps on the scene here in chapter 9.  He is gorgeous and tall.  He is also from the lowliest family of the lowliest clan of the lowliest tribe in all of Israel.  This cat is bottom of the barrel, but really good looking.  Shows you how far your looks really can take you huh?  Anyway, at the word of Saul’s dad he goes and looks for these donkeys for 3 days.  When my dad tells me to do something or help him look for something I give it about 3 min.  When God tells me to search something out or find something I give it about 15 min.  They searched 3 friggin days for ass (so much to say here), and they only reason they stopped is because Saul’s daddy was getting worried about where they had gone, or they might still be looking.  They hear about this prophet and go to see him about their ass’.  They have determined now to also give everything they have to find what his father told him to get (spiritual application, I think maybe).  They go into town and find Samuel who God had already told everything to.  Samuel talk to Saul and tells him his donkeys are found and safe and to come eat with him.  They go up and Saul is given the best stuff at the banquet table in the house of God (more spiritual stuff here I think).  Samuel then prepares a resting place in his house, (wowza God is laying this spiritual stuff on thick today).  That whole time was a time to remember as the Bible calls it.  Samuel wakes up Saul and tells Saul to send his little errand boy along because we have grownup work to do.  And the story ends.

OK, spiritual application.  If I search out what God has asked me to, no mater how long it takes or where I might have to travel, I might actually find what I am looking for.  God might also give me a special place at His table.  God then might give me rest and promote me to places unimaginable.  I mean I am a lot like Saul in the good looking aspect of this.  So ask Dad what He has told you to get or find, and go get it or find it.

Jesus’ Disobedience

I was reading this morn about miracles Jesus did throughout His ministry; all the blind people, the paralyzed, the leprous, the diseased, the broken and hurting and the demonized.  I had this thought this morning as I was reading, “I wonder how many of those people Jesus had seen before and yet not done anything right away.”  How many times did He pass the man at the gate that was blind?  Really it had to have been quite a bit I would think as much as Jesus traveled in that town and passed that gate.  I wonder how many times Jesus looked down with tears in His eyes and just wept and told that man how sorry He was for him.  How many times did Jesus go into places where He didn’t immediately heal everyone, but waited till He was done saying what needed to be said.  We don’t have that kind of obedience.  Until God told Jesus to reach down and spit into the dirt and rub it in that guys eyes He didn’t do anything.  I started thinking of the “WWJD” bracelets, and I thought I know exactly what Jesus would do.  He would walk into a place maybe having no clue exactly what was going to happen or how it was going to happen and I can just see Him standing there not doing anything.  He waited until Dad told Him what to do and how to do it, and as soon as that was revealed Jesus did that.  Lets be honest, Dad tells me to spit in the dirt, make mud (which is quite a bit of spit I would think), rub it in his eyes and tell him to open them.  Yeah right, my thought is, “OK, but that dirt is going to give him an infection, and the mud will get in his eyes, God wouldn’t tell me to do something that would give someone an infection or cause them more pain, so obviously this isn’t from God, what other options do I have?”  Not Jesus, I can just see Him standing there looking at that man for the 30th time maybe, hearing this and kind of giggling (like you Shoe) and then doing it.  I would submit that if Jesus had tried to reach down and lay hands on that man without Dad saying so it would have been disobedience.  He only did what Dad told Him to, and only said what Dad told Him to say.  How often do we walk into somewhere just stand there and wait until God told us to do something.  We can hear Father just as well as Jesus could, we have the same power to do the things He did, we just don’t wait until God tells us to or the way He says to do it.  We run out ahead and just go and do.  Disobedience.  Learn how God speaks and what He sounds like and don’t do a thing until He speaks.

Expecting the unexpected

Isaiah 55:6-9 (ESV)

6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This morning I woke up with a word from the Lord. “Expect the unexpected.” I’ve been praying about what that means and what it pertains to, whether it is a word for me, for our family, or a word about the upcoming Quest. It’s not a warning of impending doom or some omnious caution, but an exhortation to keep my (our) eyes open and my ears attentive to Him.  He will work and He will work however He wants to work… I can’t look for him to show up only how I expect him to or to work in my life in one and only one way, for “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” declares the Lord.

Thank you Lord that you are not predicable and that you are not limited by me.  Help me Lord to be attentive to your word and be ready to serve you in a moments notice.

Sent with a purpose

Romans 10:13-15a

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

Paul lists a backward progression to the salvation of all. The meaning of the word “call on him” means to place their trust in; to identify themselves with.

Someone must be “sent,” which implies for a particular purpose, in order to “preach.” “Preach,” is the same word as “proclaim” found in verse 8, “...the word of faith that we proclaim.”

Someone preaches in order that others might hear and believe.

When someone hears and believes, then and only then can they call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

So what? That’s great! I’m not the one who is to be “sent” with a purpose! It’s easy for me to say “that’s not my job or calling.” I’m not an evangelist. My spiritual gifts don’t include evangelism or mission work.

Ah… but wait. I Tim 4:2 says “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” Notice there is no qualifying statement around it – check the references.

I am to be prepared in season and out of season. Convincing, rebuking, exhorting… that sounds a lot like being “sent” – to be sent with a purpose. In season and out of season, i.e. all the time, I am to be prepared with a purpose for proclaiming the Truth. What is the Truth? Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

In the wit and wisdom on Golden Child… “What does that look like?“

For me it is being in His presence daily. What about you?

A long way to go…

Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)

6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

A simple thought.  It’s would be easy (ok… maybe not easy, but easier) to sacrifice myself for someone we deem or see as significant… a pastor, a family member, a friend.  It would even be mentally justifiable to sacrifice myself for a “regular” person.  But as I read this passage, the Lord gave me a vision of sacrificing myself for what we call the “scum” of society.  Would I sacrifice myself and forever impact the future of my family, for a child molester?  for a doctor who performs abortions? for a genecidal maniac like Saddam Huessien or Osama Bin Laden?

If I’m honest with myself, and honest with God, I could not do it.  Even if God himself stood in front of me and in an audible voice commanded me to… I’m not sure I could do it.

But He needs me to be in that kind of place spiritually.  He needs me to be that broken, obedient and loving.  That’s exactly the place Jesus was at.  That’s exactly the place he was when he crawled onto the cross.  That’s exactly the place Stephen was as they were hurling stones at him.

I am not there.

I have a very long way to go…