God’s plan- Man’s Con

Genesis 27- 

Isaac was old and his eyes were giving out. In this custom it was proper for the father to bless the older son. This blessing was not only the inheritance but the one who would be in charge after the death of the father. Since Isaac was getting so old the time was coming for this blessing to come to the older son, Esau. Actually Isaac was not listening to God who told Isaac that the older will serve the younger. Isaac did not even look at what Esau did, he sold his birthright. Isaac who favored Esau was ignoring God’s plan. So Isaac was going to do what he wanted to do and he asked Esau to go and get some venison so he can eat and then he would bless him.

 The Old switch a-roo- Vs 5-29

Rebekah who favored Jacob overheard and came up with a plan so Jacob can get the blessing from Isaac. This is a perfect example of a family with really bad miscommunication. Rebekah told Jacob to get some goats and prepare those for his father. Also Esau was hairy and Jacob was not. To be able to cover up that fact,  they put the skins of the goats on his arms and his neck (man, Esau was very hairy).  Either way the plan was going well and Jacob went in to his father with the food. Isaac could not tell with his eyes but something was not right. Isaac felt Jacob and felt the fake hair and Isaac thought, “Well you are hairy like Esau, and you smell like Esau then you must be Esau.” Isaac blessed Jacob, which meant that he would be the next in line and the one who would be the Father of the Nation. He received the inheritance and now the title.

 That Stinks- Vs 30-46

Esau came after the blessing was given to the wrong son. Boy was he mad. He cried out with a violent cry and was filled with hate. He asked his father is there anything left for me, is there any more blessing. The answer was no, Esau will now be living by the sword and serve the younger brother. Esau not only hated his brother but desired to kill him. Word reached Jacob who then fled to family in Haran.  

 That’s What Happens

Esau disregarded everything that was his. He did not care about his birthright. He married the Canaanite women who he was not supposed to.  Also Isaac did not heed the word of the Lord. Now people always ask, “How come Jacob gets the blessing, he lied and deceived his dad?” That he did, but God knew what would happen. Rebekah and Jacob acted out and did not trust the Lord, they started his plan on their own. God still has a plan and all throughout the Bible he uses people that have messed up. Some mess up early on  in their lives and God still uses them, they just have to go through some growth. Some mess up later in their lives after God used them and they ruin stuff, but either way God is in control and uses who he needs to. As we see Jacob will learn his lesson and there is strife with his brother because of the deception that took place. Jacob will be the father of the 12 tribes of Israel and out of one of those tribes, Judah, comes the line of Christ. Sin will always be found out, and God is a just God.

God’s Provisions is Best

Genesis 26

God speaks to Isaac by telling him not to go down to Egypt for food. He told him to go to a certain place and that he would take care of him and his family. Not only did God tell Abraham that he would take care of him, he also told him that he would bless him and Isaac would have numerous children.

The Father’s mistakes follow the son 

If you remember going back to chapter 20, Abraham told Abimelech that Sarah his sister when she really was his wife. Abraham lied because he was afraid of being killed. We read six chapters later that Isaac lied about Rebekah being his wife. He told the same man, Abimelech, that Rebekah was his sister. Again God intervened and kept Rebekah and Isaac safe. Isaac remained in the land and was blessed by God and became prosperous in the land.  The people of Abimelech became bitter and asked Isaac and all of his servants and possessions to leave. They did and God continued to take care of Isaac. Abimelech came to Isaac with some men and realized that God was with him. He asked Isaac to make a peace covenant that he would not harm him. It is funny that Abimelech asked Isaac to leave because he was jealous but now he was asking for peace because he was afraid of his power. God raises up who he needs to. God promised to take care of Isaac and he did. 

God promises to take care of his children.

In Matthew 6 we read what Jesus shared about how our Father in heaven takes care of us. He says that we are more valuable than the birds in the air or the lilies of the field. The birds have food and place to stay and do not worry and freak out about that stuff. We though, freak out and worry, but Jesus says, “God will provide.” The lilies in the field are decorated with splendor, and they do not wonder what they are going to wear or look like. Jesus says, “God will provide.” In verse 33 Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.” All these things are the provisions. God blesses you all the time but it may not be wealth. But God will definitely take care where you have a place to sleep and a food to eat and clothes to wear. Sometimes when Christians get older they have more  responsibilities but God takes care of his children that put him first, not themselves. May you start putting God first in all you do and you will see how God takes care of you. I look back on my life and how God has taken care of my wife and I all the way and I know he will continue to do so in the future.

Abraham Passes Away

Genesis 25

Abraham lived a very long life, 175 years to be exact. In all of those years there were some good moments were he obeyed God by following after him, and listening to him, and the not so good moments such as lying about who Sarah was. But at the end of his life we can easily reflect and see that he loved God. What an adventure he lived by following after God; he fought battles, had mistrust with God, saw supernatural events, and God spoke with him. Not only did Abraham have an exciting journey following God but he also had a huge family. He remarried after the death of Sarah and had several other children. In this chapter we see the breakdown of these children and also the breakdown of Ishmael and his children. They are not the key heritage but are also not neglected by God. 

Verses 19-27- Twins 

The promise of God will flow from Isaac because he and Rebekah give birth to twins. Today as this writing was postponed until I got home, I was able to be there for my sister who just gave birth to her son, Noah. It is such an exciting thing as life is welcomed into this life and watch as the baby takes its breath on his own. God had a plan even when it involved two boys who were completely different in personality and even physical characteristics. Esau who was hairy and Jacob. Esau was a skillful hunter and Jacob was a quiet man who dwelt in tents. God created them individually even though they were twins. I have pleasure of knowing a couple of different groups of twins. Some look really similar and not so similar, but God has given them with different personalities. God had a plan with the younger, Jacob, going to be the one with the anointed of God. Isaac and Rebekah did not help in the diversity of their children, Isaac favored Esau and Rebekah favored Jacob. Even if you do not have a twin, God created you with a diverse personality with your own style.

 Verses 29-34

Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for some stew. The birthright was the inheritance that he would receive from his father since he was the firstborn. Esau did not care for the gift that was going to be given to him. It was like if you would inherit over a million dollars but you did not care about the gift that you would receive so you sold it for something that was worth only two dollars. Esau did not care about the great gift that Isaac was going to be giving him and also God had a plan that will unfold in the future chapters. How do you treat certain gifts that your parents have entrusted unto you? What about the greatest gift that you will ever be able to receive, salvation? We can treat God’s gift of salvation as if we can sell it for a short gratification in this life. I challenge you to see what compromises that you may have made over salvation. 

A Bride for Isaac

Genesis 24

 Abraham was getting old in age and had his servant who was in charge of the household swear to him that he would find a wife for his son. The woman could not be from the Canaanites but from land where he came from. The journey began when the man responsible to getting him a wife left to Abraham’s old hood. After the long journey the servant came to the local watering hole where the women of the town would come out to gather water for the animals. Before the women came out, the servant prayed to God. How cool is it that this servant even knew who God was. This servant must have been around for sometime to be able to see God’s promise coming true in the life of Abraham and Sarah. He was able to witness God’s hand on them and he realized that God knows everything. He was specific with his prayer and asked God that the wife would be one that will draw water for my camels.  Then after his prayer all of a sudden there is Rebekah. The Bible says she was very attractive, so that was a good thing for Isaac, but she also met the criteria that the servant asked the Lord for. He worshiped the Lord and soon her family was realizing that this was from God. Wedding bells were in the air and Isaac received a beautiful wife.  

Marriage today

 We celebrate weddings today too, but there is also differences between the them. But what we can realize is that God was at the center of this meeting between Isaac and Rebekah. The servant who was responsible for finding a bride for his master’s son put prayer into it.  He knew God was going to bring the right woman in mind. Today we are very here and now and sometimes do not always seek God in our decisions first or even at all. Even though majority of you are too young to get married I think we take the fact that God is in control of who that will be and even the details that lead up to that point. We should seek God in all our major decisions as well our minor ones. I challenge you to start now because the older you get the more serious your decisions will be and you will already know who to turn too.

Goodbye for Now

Genesis 23

 The climax of the life of Abraham and Sarah has come to an end as God’s promise came true through Isaac being born. That waiting for the promise was not the suspenseful part of the plan. We learned in the previous chapter (22) that God told Abraham that he would have to offer up his only son as a sacrifice. Abraham passed the test of God and now we see the unfolding purpose of this man Isaac. The future of Israel.In this chapter we see the rest that Sarah now will have as she passed away at the age of 127. Abraham desired to buy a plot of land so he could bury her. The Hittites responded by saying, “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us (vs 6).” Abraham had an example among the foreigners as one close to God, who walked with the true God. He had integrity as he walked among people who did not know who God was but they knew who Abraham was. Abraham did not demand that they give him a tomb for free or because of who he was; instead Abraham had the upmost humility with these people and asked to buy it at is full value. 

When death happens.

Death is going to happen. It is a very sad and can be a very painful process that family members go through. Have you ever been to a funeral of person who was not a Christian and how the atmosphere of the crowd was? Now maybe you have been to a funeral where the person who died was a believer, could you tell the difference between the crowd and even how the service was? Either way, what better place to shine for Christ than in death or dealing with death. What I mean is a lot of people will be looking at you and seeing how you handle these hardships. I am not saying there should not be mourning because mourning should happen, we will miss the presence of those who are not with us, but I am saying what kind of an example can you be. People may not know God but they may know you, and you should be able to point them to God. Abraham had integrity where the people called him a prince of God and they knew that they were close. Abraham also did not take advantage of them but was honest in dealing with the death of his wife. Death is here and it is a result of sin that happened in the garden in ch.3 but I look forward to the part after death. I look forward to eternity with Christ my Lord. I look forward to seeing those who loved the Lord again as they were more than conquerors of the faith.  

God’s Promise is showing

Genesis 21

God promised that Abraham would have a son but it was in his timing and not it was time. They received a son whom they named Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old. I don’t if we could imagine having a newborn baby at the age of 100. They spent years and years wondering when this promise from God was going to happen but it finally did. Sarah even mentioned that Isaac means he laughs or laughed over and she said everyone will laugh at the fact that she has a newborn baby. God does use the foolish things of the world to his glory. He will use the fact that Abraham and Sarah could be like great-great grandparents yet they are now only parents. God used many unworthy candidates to do his will in the Bible and he continues to today.

 The unjust cause vs 8-21

Ishmael was born unto Hagar the maidservant of Sarah because both Abraham and Sarah did not trust God’s plan. Because of the strife between Sarah and Hagar, Sarah wanted Hagar and Ishmael gone again. God reveals something to Abraham, don’t worry even though your son is going to be the seed of the nation but also Ishmael. He is going to be a nation. But this nation is a great nation now. They also are in strife with Israel today. The question that may come up is why would God care about this boy and his mom when they are not part of the plan. The answer, because God does care about the unjust. He had compassion on the innocent.  God who is so great knows everything and even the he takes care of the innocent. Ishmael was taken care of.  

Do you ever feel like you may get treated in a bad or mistreated? Maybe you feel like the weight of the world is on you and everyone demands something of you? The great news is that God knows everything and knows what is going on in your life. He sees when you get treated great and you get treated bad. He knows when people may pick on you and he knows when people may say bad stuff against you. You matter to God. May you cling to your heavenly Father who knows you by name.