Genesis 29 -- Watching Jacob Grow

I enjoyed my commentary’s focus on how Jacob’s character was developed through his trials in this chapter.  “With Jacob, marriage wasn’t an option; it was an obligation.  The success of the covenant promises God gave to Abraham depended on Jacob’s finding a wife and with her, building a family … that would bring the promised Redeemer into the world.”

Jacob’s sighting of Rachel at the well wasn’t “a fortunate coincidence” as the world might say, but a divine appointment.  God used his attraction to her to initiate His plans for His covenant promises.  He was so enamored with Rachel that he never noticed that his future father-in-law made NO promise that he would give Rachel to Jacob at the end of his promised service.

Strangely, we see a father hurting his own daughter (Rachel) to fulfill his own schemes at the wedding.  And how awkward that next day must have been for Jacob, not to mention having to complete his marital duties during the marriage week, wanting only to be with the woman he really loved, yet having to instead spend bedroom time with her sister!  Yet in that culture, the bride’s father controlled.  Jacob “meekly accepted his lot and went back to work for another seven years,” but celebrated his second honeymoon the following week!  “Little by little, Jacob was learning to submit to God’s loving hand of discipline and was growing in faith and character.”

Laban didn’t realize the “the Lord was ruling and overruling in the entire event.  ‘There is no wisdom, no might, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.’”  Through it all, God was producing the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel – building a nation from which the Redeemer would come.  And God saw Jacob’s heart – that he naturally loved Rachel more than Leah, and He balanced things out by making Leah fertile (building the family, including the line of Judah from her), while Rachel couldn’t conceive.  If nothing else, that kept Jacob doing his marital duties, through which the redeemer would come, even though his heart and affections were elsewhere.

More evidence of Jacob’s spiritual growth come from this as “Leah and Rachel treated Jacob like a servant and used him as a pawn in their family bargaining, and he patiently bore with it,” my commentary said.

Father, help me to see Your hand working in my own family.  Show me how to help my sons see Your sovereignty in their own lives, even when they seem unwilling to let You lead.  I want them to grow to depend on You and not on themselves.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 28 -- A Sudden Life Change For Jacob

Life really changed for Jacob.  He’d always stayed at home and had a special link with his mother, but now the threat of retaliation from Esau would disrupt his world.  His mother used finding a wife for him as an excuse to hopefully save his life.  She likely hoped that a few months would pass, the whole thing would blow over, and Jacob would return to her with grandkids soon to follow, but Rebekah never saw him again.  when he returned some twenty years later, she would be dead.

Whereas Abraham had sent a caravan with his servant to find a bride for Isaac, Jacob seemed to be traveling alone, and one night he warily laid down on the ground, with a rock for a pillow, and dreamed.  God was revealing Himself to him in that dream, and when Jacob awoke, he remembered all that God had promised him:  that He was the God of Jacob’s grandfather and father; that He was giving Jacob the land where he slept – he wouldn’t be just passing through it; that this single guy WOULD have a wife and many sons and many grandkids; that everyone on earth would be blessed because of it; and perhaps what he really needed to hear on this very scary journey alone into an unknown land and future – that God was going with him, would protect him, and would bring him back home, never leaving him until every promise was fulfilled.

Jacob finally realized that God was present in his life, but he never knew it!  And hearing those promises, Jacob accepted them and agreed that God would be his God.  And he worshiped him there.

Father, I remember my own encounter with You, when I’d stepped so very far away, yet You kept after me and drew me back with Your love.  You’ve blessed me and I trust You to direct my life.  Before, I was afraid that You would take me where I didn’t want to go, but now I know that You change my heart so that by the time I am there, I am exactly where I want to be – with You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 27 -- A Bum Rap For Jacob?

I loved the way my commentary wove the characters together in this chapter.

Isaac, it said, was in decline and put himself ahead of the Lord by thinking he was surely about to die and then deciding to eat a feast of wild game and bless Esau.  He and Rebekah had caused the family feud, it said, by their selfish favoritism and instead of healing it, he was perpetuating it and destroying his family.  Knowing God had said before their births that Jacob would rule, Isaac still planned to overrule that.  He knew that Esau had despised his birthright and sold it to Jacob, and that he’d disqualified himself by marrying heathen women, yet he still tried to overrule God.

It also said Rebekah wasn’t believing without scheming.  She apparently didn’t trust God to get the job done and eavesdropped and lied and connived.  She could have taken Jacob to Isaac and reminded him of God’s message, but decided to use deception instead.

Jacob had to compound lies with more lies to pull off the deception.  Afterwards, Isaac trembled greatly with agitation.  My commentary said it was because he knew that the Lord had overruled his own selfish plan so that his favorite son did not receive the blessing.

For Esau, who’d despised a godly life, he felt it wasn’t his fault, but his brother’s.  He loved blaming others.

A footnote in my commentary said it all:  “At no time do we find God rebuking Jacob for cheating somebody … Jacob was wrong in deceiving his father, but he was right in believing God’s Word and knowing that the covenant blessing was his.  He didn’t steal the birthright; he bought it … It was Laban who defrauded Jacob … Throughout Jacob’s life, God fulfilled the basic meaning of his name, ‘God will protect’.”

Father, thank You for a new perspective on this vital story.  Help me to believe without scheming, trusting that You will protect me as well.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 26 -- Redigging Old Wells

“True faith is always tested, either by temptations within us or trials around us, because a faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted,” my commentary said again.  And Isaac’s faith was about to be tested.  Isaac faced a famine as his father had.  God specifically told him not to go to Egypt, “but live in the land where I tell you to live.  Stay in this land…”

It’s hard to tell how well Isaac obeyed, because he traveled to Gerar, the Philistine capital.  Although technically he had moved, he was still within the boundaries of Canaan.  But like his father, he worried that he’d be killed to get his wife, and Isaac lied that she was his sister, too.  Isaac settled down after being found out, becoming a farmer, and God richly blessed him, to the point that the Philistines worried about his strength and influence and began stopping up the wells that Abraham had dug.  This finally forced him to move to Beersheba.

There God appeared to him and again blessed him, and Isaac built an altar and worshiped Him there.  Seeing how God was blessing him in spite of their best efforts, the Philistine king came and made an agreement with Isaac to avoid future conflict.

However, another conflict began at home.  “His worldly son Esau had married two heathen wives who caused grief to Isaac and Rebekah.”

Isaac’s experience with redigging the old wells his father had originally dug brought up an important message in my commentary for churches today:  “The church keeps looking for something new, when all we need is to dig again the old wells of spiritual life that God’s people have depended on from the beginning – the Word of God, prayer, worship, faith, the power of the Spirit, sacrifice, and service – wells that we’ve allowed the enemy to fill up.”

Father, help me, like Isaac to discern when to be confronter and when to be a peacemaker.  I know that my faith gets tested, and I must remember that it can’t be trusted until it is tested.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 25 -- Examining Isaac

After God used His resurrection power to enable Abraham to father Isaac, and after Sarah died, Abraham remarried and fathered other boys; but like Ishmael, these boys were removed from the scene.  They were given gifts, but only Isaac inherited his father’s wealth because he was the child of the promised covenant.  And as God had said, Ishmael fought against his brothers – these other sons of Abraham. 

Isaac was different than his father and not terribly remarkable.  My commentary said, “Discovering our own uniqueness and using it to the glory of God is the challenge that makes life what it is.”

Isaac is sometimes faulted for liking Esau more than Jacob.  My commentary said, “Whatever mistakes Isaac may have made as a husband and father, this much is true:  As a young man, he willingly PUT HIMSELF ON THE ALTAR to obey his father and to please the Lord.”  That says a lot!

Father, thank You for this fresh view of Isaac.  Help me to understand my own uniqueness and how it fits into Your will for my life, and help me to be obedient to that will.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 24 -- Four Elements

My commentary had a really interesting take on the story of finding Isaac a wife.  It noted four elements that are also involved in the marriage of Christ and His church:

                The will of the father

                The witness of the servant

                The willingness of the bride

                The welcome of the bridegroom

Some passages I particularly liked:

                “Just as Abraham wanted a bride for his son, so God the Father elected to provide a bride for His beloved Son.  Why?  The bride is the Father’s love gift to His Son.”

In speaking about Rebekah’s willingness to draw water for a stranger, his men, and his camels, I read, “Little did Rebekah know that doing a humble task for a stranger would make her the bride of a wealthy man who was in a covenant relationship with God … Make every occasion a great occasion, for you can never tell when someone may be taking your measure for a larger place.”

Regarding Rebekah’s decision not to wait 10 days, but to instead leave at once, I read, “What motivated Rebekah to make the right decision?  She heard the word about Isaac and believed it.  She saw the proof of his greatness, generosity, and wealth and wanted to belong to him for the rest of her life.  She had never seen Isaac, but what she had heard about him convinced her to go to Canaan with the servant.”

A really important quote: “We make our decisions and then our decisions turn around and make us.”

Father, thanks for this incredible picture.  Help me to use what I read today in my everyday life.  I want to be looking for where You are working and join You there.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 23 -- Sarah's Death

Sarah was 127 years old when she died.  That made Isaac 37 when his mom passed away.  At 90, she didn’t have a son.  What a wonderful miracle God wrought in her life those last 37 years!

My commentary focused on Abraham’s actions after her death.  Even though God had given Abraham all of the Promised Land, legally he owned none of it.  He had to bargain at the city gate for a burial plot.  He asked only to buy a cave, but the owner would only sell it with the field adjoining it.  In faith, Abraham promised to pay the full price before one was quoted, and then the owner requested a price of ten pounds of silver.  Abraham agreed, and this became the only land he legally owned in the Promised Land.

He could have taken Sarah’s body back to Ur for burial, but he believed God.  The Promised Land was to be his home.  He’d also come to understand about resurrection, and it was therefore important to him to be buried in the Promised Land.  My commentary concluded the chapter, saying, “We will take nothing with us; we will leave it all behind.  But, if we are investing in things eternal, we can send it ahead (Matt. 6:19-34).  If we live by faith, then we can die by faith, and when you die by faith, you have a wonderful future.”

Father, help me to invest for eternity, sending ahead what You’ve blessed me with already.  Help my boys to see the future You have planned for them, and to become a part of that future today.