Daily Bread for Jan 9, Gen 27-29

Today's reading is Gen 27-29.

In Gen 25:23, we saw God prophetically promise Rebekah that Esau would serve Jacob. Esau gave up his birthright in Gen 25:31-33. In Gen 27, this promise comes full circle when, through deception, Rebekah and Jacob conspire for Jacob instead of Esau to receive Isaac's blessing. This is a difficult passage to reconcile. It makes no determination or judgment of the motives of Jacob and his mother. It neither endorses nor condemns the deception and manipulation. It only depicts the outcome. Neither are we told whether these events contribute to the bad decisions Esau makes. However, we do see that Esau has a vengeful and hate-filled heart that leads him to want to kill Jacob. Both boys seem to have their faults.

Yet, there is something vaguely unsettling about how Jacob receives the blessing, isn’t there? Our human sensibilities tell us this is not fair. Why doesn’t Isaac merely reverse his decision and do what seems right?

There is a richer lesson here if we are willing to learn about the character and nature of God rather than what we believe to be fair and right.

Both sons are seriously flawed. God said, before they were born, that the older would serve the younger. God’s promise was predicated neither on their behavior nor their capability to live correctly, but on His word. God is faithful and true to His word—always. Isaac is acting in a godly manner in how he conveys blessing. Will Isaac go back on his promise just because Jacob was deceitful? Does God do that to His children? To us? Will Esau love his father only when he gets what he thinks he deserves? Or does Esau love his father the way his father loves him, unconditionally? The blessing Jacob receives and the lack of blessing Esau receives will ultimately reveal their true natures.

Aside from a valuable lesson in God’s character and nature, the whole scenario shows that God uses all circumstances to work for the good of His children and His glory. That some may question Isaac's decisions is telling. If indeed this is a lesson on how and why God the Father confers blessing, Paul makes it clear that it is God's prerogative, not ours (Rom 9:14-16). Our reaction to Jacob and Esau’s father in this little story can reveal much about the way we perceive our Father in heaven.

Jacob travels to Paddan-aram, in Gen 28, to find an appropriate wife among his uncle's tribe. Along the way, he has a vision of a ladder to heaven. We know from the incident at the Tower of Babel (Gen 11) that man cannot, of his own power ascend into heaven. What is revealed to Jacob is that God can and will come to earth (Jhn 1:51). God is graciously revealing Himself to a flawed but blessed Jacob.

In Paddan-aram, the tables are turned on Jacob (his name means “deceiver”) when he is deceived (Gen 29:9-30). After laboring for seven years to marry the beautiful Rachel, Jacob is tricked by Laban into marrying Leah, a girl no one seems to want. Jacob loves Rachel so much, he stays for another seven years to marry Rachel too. The one who has manipulated so many close to him becomes the victim of manipulation! In the end, Laban marries off both of his daughters and Jacob has his prize, Rachel.

But Rachel is barren. At first, only Leah is enabled by God to provide children for Jacob. Zilpah and Bilhah, servants of Leah and Rachel, are mentioned. A little later, they will play important parts in the narrative.

Leah produces four sons; Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Be mindful of the names. These sons are the beginnings of the twelve tribes. God is using the outcast girl to begin fulfilling His promise to Abraham and Isaac. He does it through a seriously flawed man and a woman that no one wanted. God loves and uses both! The plan of redemption is moving along quite nicely even though those whom God is using have their private and public struggles.

Amid all this, there is tremendous tension in Jacob's household (Gen 28:6-9). While some may think the folks in the Bible are near-perfect, we see that God uses flawed, dysfunctional families and imperfect people to do His most profound work! This puts His glory on display. He is in the process of transforming a messy, deeply flawed group of people into a nation that will impact the world and eventually be the home of the Savior.