Devotions

when life does not fit

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 11:1-6

When Jesus had completed coaching his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities also.

² But when John heard in prison about what the Christ was doing, he sent word by his disciples

³ and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see here:

⁵ the blind are receiving their sight and the lame are walking, the leprous ones are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing, and the dead are being raised up, and the poor are hearing good news.

⁶ And blessed is the one who is not tempted to stumble because of me.” _________________________________________

when life does not fit

No one had represented Jesus better than his forerunner, John the baptizer. But time on death row can change a man. He had boldly proclaimed to his disciples that Jesus was the lamb from God, destined to take sin away from the world.[1] But, as he waits in prison, his life in the hands of the powerful and corrupt, he wonders.

John had come to a place in his life where his situation did not agree with his message. He had expected a different outcome. That still happens to believers today, and it can become a time of tension where commitment breaks down, or a time of maturity where commitment grows stronger.

Jesus gave John the perspective he needed. He showed John’s disciples that all the things predicted about the Messiah’s ministry to the poor and needy were being fulfilled. John’s predicament did not change what Jesus is all about.

There are definitely going to be times in our lives as believers when what we experience is going to seem disconnected to what we declare to be true. John had taught that the Messiah would bring freedom, but then John wound up in prison. The challenge for him was to keep living for Christ while his life situation did not fit his message.

LORD, give us the wisdom to faithfully represent you and the destiny you came to give us, especially when our present situations tempt us to stop believing in that destiny.

[1] John 1:29.

Posted in commitment, courage, evangelism, faithfulness, witness | Tagged Matthew 11 | Leave a comment

embracing destiny

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Genesis 29:1-14

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the sons of the east.

² As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and see, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone used for the well’s lid was large,

³ and when all the flocks were gathered there, all the shepherds would roll the stone from the top of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They answered, “We are from Haran.”

⁵ He asked them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They answered, “We know him.”

⁶ He asked them, “Is it well with him?” They answered, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!”

⁷ He said, “See, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.”

⁸ But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still conversing with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

¹⁰ And as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and shouted and wept.

¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,

¹⁴ and Laban said to him, “You are my bone and my flesh indeed!” And he stayed with him a month of days.

_________________________________________

embracing destiny

Laban had figured prominently in the story of Isaac and Rebekah already, but the readers were not told why. Now, we see that his daughter, Rachel, will find her destiny among the chosen family. The LORD is telling us our story with theirs. It is not just about a particular family that just happened to bring the Messiah into the world. It is about God’s way of writing us all into his story.

Laban had heard the story told him by the shepherds of how Jacob opened up the lid of the well, in a burst of nervous energy after seeing Rachel coming with her sheep. He might have remembered another story about how Rebekah served a strange servant and his camels, and that was how she got involved in her destiny. When he saw Jacob, He probably saw the resemblance between him and his mother, Laban’s sister, Rebekah. Laban recognized destiny when he saw it.

The motif of women at wells does not stop there. Moses will find his destiny at a well in Midian, and a woman named Zipporah.[1] And it was not just a well, but Jacob’s well, where a tired preacher named Jesus will sit down and have a chat with a Samaritan woman about her destiny.[2] He told this woman that she – not someone more important or more famous, but she, herself, had potential to be a well of water to rescue and sustain others. She caught on, and led her town to Jesus. She recognized destiny when she saw and heard it.

LORD, we look at you in your glory, and we dare to see the family resemblance. May we embrace our destiny to embrace you, and to become part of your story.

[1] Exodus 2.

[2] John 4.

Posted in evangelism, Jacob | Tagged Genesis 29 | 1 Comment

workers need perspective on their purpose

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 10:38-42

³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow behind me, he is not worthy of me.

³⁹ Whoever finds his soul will destroy it, and whoever destroys his soul for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.

⁴¹ The one who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will get a prophet’s wages, and the one who welcomes a righteous person because he is a righteous person will get a righteous person’s wages.

⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his wages.” _________________________________________

workers need perspective on their purpose

This final part of Jesus’ commissioning sermon for his apostles as they go out to their Galilean ministry focuses on their purpose as representatives of the Lord and his coming kingdom. It has two sections. In the first, verses 38-39, Jesus challenges his disciples to follow him fully. He is going to his cross; they should be following behind him with their crosses. If the apostles are not willing to risk their lives to preach Christ, they are not worthy of him.

It is in this context that Jesus tells them to destroy their souls. I know, it is usually not translated that way, but the translation is accurate,[1] and fits the context. Of course, if one’s theology will not accept the idea of a destroyed soul, he will have problems accepting this translation. But practically all translations render the word psuché here as life, which is what Jesus means. A soul is a life. There is nothing immortal about this life. That is the point. To serve the Lord faithfully, workers must be willing to destroy their souls, trusting that he can raise them to life again.

But along with the tremendous responsibility of representing Christ, there is also the tremendous blessing of representing him. In the second section, verses 40-42, Jesus tells his apostles that those who welcome them and accept their message will be greatly blessed. When they welcome the apostles, they are not just welcoming the apostles, they are welcoming the Lord they represent. When they welcome Christ, they are welcoming God whom he represents. As such, they participate in the LORD’s ministry, in the same way that someone who welcomes a prophet participates in that prophet’s ministry.

So, on the judgment day, those who dared welcome these itinerant evangelists into their homes, providing for their needs, and accepting their teachings – will find that they have earned the wages that these apostles earned. What are those wages? The wages of sin is death, bit the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.[2]

LORD, give us the courage to represent you to our neighbors who need you, even if it means destroying our souls to do so.

[1] The word apóllumi is rendered destroy in Matthew 2:13; 9:17; 10:28; 12:14; 22:7; 27:20. It is a better translation than the typical word “lose” in verse 39 because the cross (verse 38) is a method of destruction.

[2] Romans 6:23.

Posted in commitment, evangelism, witness | Tagged Matthew 10 | Leave a comment

the LORD’s unconditional commitment

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Genesis 28:6 – 22

⁶ Esau realized that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he commanded him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,”

⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

⁸ So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,

⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the other wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and went in the direction of Haran.

¹¹ And he happened to come to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

¹² And he dreamed, and see, there was a ladder set up on the land, and the top of it reached to the sky. And see, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

¹³ And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your offspring.

¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like the dust of the land, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the land be blessed.

¹⁵ Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of the sky.”

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a monument and poured oil on the top of it.

¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at first.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD will be my God,

²² and this stone, which I have set up for a monument, will be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” _________________________________________

the LORD’s unconditional commitment

Both Esau and Jacob manifest immaturity here. Esau thinks that he can improve his family situation by taking another wife, in addition to the two he has. Jacob’s spiritual immaturity is what is highlighted in his case. He’s basing his commitment to God on his anticipated blessing from him.

The LORD’s unconditional commitment is seen by Jacob in a dream. It was either a ladder or a set of steps. What matters is that it reached to heaven, and vice-versa. Jacob saw it in his dream, and he saw God’s angels ascending and descending on it. The LORD spoke to Jacob and assured him of his presence, and that he would fulfill all the promises that he had made to his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac.

This story does not highlight Jacob’s commitment to God. Jacob is immature and his faith is very conditional at this point in his life’s journey. But God’s commitment to Jacob is unconditional. He is with Jacob and he will keep him wherever he goes, and he will bring him back to his inheritance at Canaan. He will do what he has promised.

LORD, thank you for your unconditional love and commitment to us. Thank you that Jacob’s ladder was not one of those aluminum portable things.

Posted in dependence upon God, Jacob, relationship with God | Tagged Genesis 28 | 1 Comment

workers need to establish their love priority

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 10:34-37

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the land. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵ For I have come to divide a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶ And a man’s enemies will be those within his own household.

³⁷ The one loving father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one loving son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. _________________________________________

workers need to establish their love priority

Christianity is a family-friendly faith. Jesus does not call on believers to renounce membership in their families, or to declare their family members enemies because they do not accept his kingdom. That is not what he declares here. The gospel message of grace heals families, and reconciles the broken relationships within them caused by sin, shame, and selfishness.

Yet, Jesus did warn his apostles that as they set about proclaiming the gospel of his coming sky kingdom in Galilee, they will find that much of the opposition to their message will come from their own families. The message of peace that they bring will feel very much like a sword. It will divide the very families it is designed to make whole.

Their neighbors might have the distance that will allow them to avoid these religious fanatics, but the people in their households will not. They will feel the pressure both ways. The believers in the family will keep at it until the unbelievers make a decision, the unbelievers will urge them not to get carried away with this Jesus thing. Pressure produces friction, and the closer one is to the source of pressure, the more friction will be felt. That is why preaching the gospel can be a source of family upheaval and strife.

Curiously, Jesus does not give us a quick, five step program for resolving this conflict. But, to be fair, that is not the issue he is teaching about here. These words are instructions to missionaries who are sent to their own hometowns to share the gospel. Since that is true, he instructs them to make their love and loyalty to him a priority – even over their love for family.

There is a general application here for Christians who have unbelievers in their families. It is that Jesus wants our love for him to be our first love priority. If Jesus and his coming kingdom from the sky is not our first priority, then we are still on the outside of that kingdom, looking in. He taught us to “seek first the kingdom from God and desire his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you”[1] A strong, healthy family is something we all want, but we have to get the priority right, or even that might become a curse rather than a blessing. On the judgment day, we all will appear before Jesus Christ as individuals. Of concern that day will not be how strong or unified our families were. What will matter will be our personal relationships with Christ.

LORD, give us the wisdom to establish you and your kingdom as the love priority of our lives.

[1] Matthew 6:33.

Posted in evangelism, family, gospel, kingdom of God | Tagged Matthew 10 | Leave a comment

the value of appropriate space

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Genesis 27:39 – 28:5

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and he said to him: “See, your dwelling will be away from the fatness of the land, and away from the dew of the sky from above.

⁴⁰ By your sword you shall live, and you will serve your brother; but when you grow restless you will break his yoke from your neck.”

⁴¹ So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; after that I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “See, your brother Esau consoles himself about you by planning to kill you.

⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran

⁴⁴ and stay with him a while, until your brother’s rage abates-

⁴⁵ until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I abhor my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

^28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

² Get up, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

³ God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and enlarge you, that you may become a company of peoples.

⁴ May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your travelings that God gave to Abraham!”

⁵ This is how Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. _________________________________________

the value of appropriate space

It was true that Rebekah seriously disliked the women that Esau had chosen as his wives. It also did not hurt that in saying this to her husband, she had a good excuse to ask him to send Jacob away for a wife among her brother’s clan. The advantage of this is that it would put a generous amount of space between Jacob and Esau. She knew that Esau was planning on killing his brother as soon as Isaac died, and she did not know how long that would be. So, once again, Rebekah’s scheming preserves the family line, and the covenant community. She does it by making sure that there is plenty of good healthy space between these two siblings. That is not always the best answer to family strife, but it sometimes is just the thing that is needed. Space can keep us from concentrating on our issues with one another, and allow the Holy Spirit to heal us from hurts without our constantly reopening the wounds.

LORD, teach us the value of appropriate space as a means of your preserving our relationships.

Posted in Esau, Holy Spirit, Jacob, reconciliation | Tagged Genesis 27, Genesis 28 | 1 Comment

workers need to admit their identity

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 10:29-33

²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion?[1] And not one of them will fall to the land without your Father’s permission.

³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all accounted for.

³¹ Do not fear, then; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

³² So everyone who admits knowing me in the presence of men, I also will admit knowing in the presence of my Father who is in the sky,

³³ but whoever denies knowing me in the presence of men, I also will deny knowing in the presence of my Father who is in the sky.

_________________________________________

workers need to admit their identity

Jesus was sending his apostles out to preach the gospel of his kingdom to their neighbor towns in Galilee. Many of the people knew something about Jesus, but these apostles who already knew Jesus personally had the responsibility to represent him, providing truth instead of rumors. That is why it would be essential for the apostles to be honest about their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus had already warned them that they would face persecution, and to be prepared for violent, even fatal opposition. He had first told them to be true because not even death is as bad as forsaking God. Death at the hands of men is temporary, but the second death in Gehenna is permanent.

Now he gives them another reason why that reaction to their message should not deter them from proclaiming it. The Father in the sky values the lives of all his creatures, giving his permission before even a common sparrow dies. But a believer has a special relationship with God through Christ. For these special people, even the hairs on our heads must be accounted for.

The gospel message we now preach is the whole story of what Jesus Christ accomplished when he walked this planet, including the work he accomplished as our Savior by dying on the cross as an atoning sacrifice, and being raised from the dead as the firstfruits, guaranteeing our future resurrection and his future kingdom. The message of a future king and kingdom coming down from the sky was crucial to the apostles’ ministry in Galilee, so it had to be proclaimed only by those who had really enlisted in the kingdom. The apostles had to own up to their new relationship with God through Christ, or else Jesus would not own up to them in the presence of his Father.

LORD, give us to courage to admit to our identity – our relationship with you and our hope of your coming kingdom.

[1] about an hour’s wage (1/16^th of a denarius, a day’s wage for unskilled labor).

Posted in evangelism, gospel, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God | Tagged Matthew 10 | Leave a comment

losing the blessing

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Genesis 27:27-38

²⁷ So he drew near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his clothes and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed!

²⁸ May God give you from the dew of the sky and of the richness of the land and plenty of grain and wine.

²⁹ Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had only just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from hunting his food.

³¹ He also prepared that delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat of his son’s food, that you may bless me.”

³² But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

³³ Then Isaac trembled anxiously and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”

³⁴ As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an very loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceptively, and he has taken away your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Do you not have a blessing left for me?”

³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, “See, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have supported him. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. _________________________________________

losing the blessing

Isaac was Abraham’s son. He knew the importance of passing on the family blessing. Until now, Esau had shown no great attachment to the covenant his grandfather had made with the LORD. Suddenly it all becomes important to him, but too late.

The New Testament tells us that on the judgment day there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,[1] for the same reason. Those who have despised the blessing God had to offer them all their lives will suddenly find that they are too late. Someone else will enjoy the richness of eternity. “The one who has the Son has life, the one not having the Son does not have that life.”[2] It all comes down to that.

LORD, we want your eternal blessing. We come to Christ, and cling to him. We count as loss all the other good things we possess, and all this world has to offer. Give us the eternal life you promised through his blood.

[1] Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28.

[2] 1 John 5:12.

Posted in destruction in hell, Esau, eternal life | Tagged Genesis 27 | 1 Comment

workers need to choose the right fear

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Matthew 10:23-28

²³ When they pursue you in this city, escape to the next, for honestly, I tell you, you will not have finished with all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not over his teacher, nor is a servant over his master.

²⁵ It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they mistreat those of his household.

²⁶ “So do not fear them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known.

²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸ And do not fear from the killers of the body (who are unable to kill the soul). Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. _________________________________________

workers need to choose the right fear

Even though Jesus knew that the Galilean mission would be successful, he wanted the apostles he sent out to know that there is always a possibility of betrayal, rejection and violent death when they go out to proclaim the word of life. Too much is at stake for the Adversary to allow our mission to succeed without retaliation. Yet, there is a fact that should cause us to check our fear of these body-killers. That fact is hell.

Oh, I am not referring to the hell that was dreamed up in the minds of pagans, where souls are tormented constantly for eternity. I’m talking about the hell Jesus talked about here — Gehenna. Gehenna is not a temporary place of torment that disembodied souls go at death. It is the final state of the lost — it is the lake of fire that follows the great white throne judgment.[1] The purpose of Gehenna is not to inflict pain as punishment. It is to destroy – to utterly kill – to annihilate. This is something that only God can do.

The pagans thought that even God could not kill the soul, but they were wrong. They thought that souls continue to live after death, making death a lie. Jesus taught that death is real. He warned his apostles that when they dared to proclaim him, the world would treat them like they did him. We all know what they did to Jesus. But then something wonderful happened. He rose from the dead. They had killed his body, but his soul (his whole being) came to life again at his resurrection. He had no reason to fear the killers of his body, because God would raise his soul from that death.

The right fear is the fear of God. Jesus instructed his workers in the Galilean mission to choose this fear, and let it override their fear of persecution. Yes, they could be put to death. Over the centuries since this message was given, many a body has been killed for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the same God who raised Christ from the dead will also raise their souls to life again. Their death is real, but only temporary. The death we should all fear is the death without Christ, without faith, and without God. That death is destruction of both soul and body in Gehenna. It is what the Bible calls the second death.[2] It is to be feared because it is permanent. When God destroys, he utterly destroys. The prophet Malachi said that “the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”[3]

Fearing Gehenna hell, and fearing the God who can destroy people there, does not need to make us love him any less. Jesus is talking about putting our earthly fears in perspective. The dangers that await us for obedience to him need to be contrasted with the dangers that await those who reject and disobey him. We serve out of love. We proclaim his grace because we have been won over by that grace. Reality is that we might die for proclaiming that grace.

But Jesus teaches his disciples here that the gospel message and what is says about the future are all going to be revealed in the end. Nothing that is hidden is going to stay hidden. The enemies of the gospel are not going to destroy it. What the disciples hear Jesus saying in the dark, they can feel free to say in the light. What they hear whispered, they can proclaim on the housetops. Those truths are not going to go away, regardless of how fierce the opposition to them. Our confidence in the power of God can help us to overcome fear of man.

LORD, give us respect for your power, and confidence in it, so that we can boldly proclaim the message of your love – in the face of the world’s hate.

[1] Revelation 20:11-15.

[2] Revelation 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8.

[3] Malachi 4:1.

Posted in destruction in hell, evangelism, gospel, resurrection, wisdom | Tagged Matthew 10 | Leave a comment

undeserved blessing

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Genesis 27:14-26

¹⁴ And he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made tasty food, the kind that his father loved.

¹⁵ Also, Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her larger son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her smaller son.

¹⁶ And she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck the skins of the young goats.

¹⁷ And she set the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you said to me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may give a blessing to me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “What is this, why did you find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God made it come to me.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Draw near me now, so that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

²² And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

²³ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him.

²⁴ He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Draw near and kiss me, my son.” _________________________________________

undeserved blessing

What lesson could the Israelites possibly take from this story? It is about how their ancestors Jacob and Rebekah deceived their ancestor Isaac, causing him to give his blessing to Jacob instead of Esau. But perhaps the lesson is not about the deception. Maybe it is about how God frustrates our plans ands expectations and visits his grace upon those he chooses to love. The fact is, neither son deserved the blessing that was actually at stake here. God is at work, and he always gets his man. If grace only came to the deserving, it would not be grace.

LORD, we celebrate your grace today. We thank you that you chose us – though we were the “wrong” choice. You have determined to make us Jacobs your Israel.

Posted in grace, Isaac, Jacob, relationship with God | Tagged Genesis 27 | 1 Comment