Isaac, Genesis 24-27: Come Follow Me with Sam


What it means to live as a covenant family

 The readings for this week talk of Isaac's story. They are filled with all manner of lessons - of intrigue, of revelation, of spirit, of faith, of dedication, of simple things, and of great things.

The main lesson I get from these chapters are understanding the struggles that a family can go through when following God in a foreign land. Isaac was the son of Abraham, the father of all nations, and yet his life was not easy. He couldn't find a wife to begin with, and then he had to hide her from his neighbors, had to dig his wells over again, had to work between his sons making hard choices, and then dealing with a very complicated birthright situation.

Isaac was not the perfect guy. But he was still a patriarch under God. He didn't have a lot of really big problems "magicked" away. But he continually sought God and God provided. God even saved Isaac from himself, as in the example of the birthright. 

Rebeckah, for her part, probably never imagined that her husband finding would go the way it did. Her challenge wasn't praying for a miracle husband, it was living her life day-to-day that allowed the Lord to magnify and bless it. She was looking outward into how she could bless those in need, including strangers, and God magnified this into helping the servant as the sign he was looking for. Likewise, she had to deal with the choices of her son Esau, and even trick her husband to avert a birthright catastrophe. Then she worried about Jacob's future family. She had to face all these things despite being an elect lady.

When you are part of God's plan, you probably won't have your problems 'magicked' away either. And you will still have your own weaknesses and blindspots, which can be an interminable burden for you, even when you think you are doing the right thing. But here is the thing. When you give your life to God, He can prepare a way for you to overcome all these things. He can even turn bitter to sweet, and, if your heart is in the right place, he can save you from yourself. And who could ask for a better blessing than that all things are prepared for them to overcome?

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 25, 2022 at 12:17 AM

    There are several points about mariage that we can learn from those verses :

    - it is necessary to observe how the person we "date" act with the people she doesn't need to impress ( Gen 24:13-14)
    - God is a God of promises and he works in the little details to fulfill his words in our life ( Gen 24:21,27, 40)
    - it's not a "vérité absolue" but it helps to be with someone who shares most of the same codes than us ( Gen 26: 34-35 and Gen 27: 46)
    - man and woman rejoice together even in public, I would say that it is important to see (truly) happy couple because youth or single persons need examples and nourish that hope for themselves ( Gen 26:8 and the family proclamation)
    - a woman knows how to cook her husband favorite meal ;) ( Gen 27:9) just to say that showing someone love could be done in some different ways

    Great article!

    ReplyDelete

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