God loves to do things in a big way: “grace upon grace,” “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” Here’s another example of His generosity. You may recall we asked the question two lessons ago, “if the Lord would endorse the blessing his father had given him, since it was taken from Esau by guile?” […]
According to God, the world is condemned and ready to burn. Everyone on it should have at least a mild curiosity if a rescue ladder is available. What a fascinating story here in Genesis 28! Jacob, traveling north, seems to stop at random in the very place where his grandfather Abraham first called on the […]
Jacob might have thought it was a random location for his overnight stop, but it happened to be the place where his grandfather called on the name of the Lord. In our story today, Jacob is heading north, fleeing from his brother’s wrath. Did he wonder, as he journeyed, if the Lord would endorse the […]
The subtle phrasing is easily overlooked, but God’s plan always was to bring, through His plan, the most blessing to the most people. Coming to the end of Genesis 27, is Rebekah still conniving? It looks like it. She wants her favorite son, Jacob, safely away from his brother’s anger but also wants his leaving […]
Key decisions are like the juncture of a railroad track. Where it branches is a matter of inches, but at the end the two lines can be a continent apart. The household intrigue continues in Genesis 27. Rebekah hears what Esau had said about killing his brother for taking the birthright. She warns Jacob that […]
It’s true, Esau sought repentance, but not for his own heart; it was his father, Isaac, he wanted to repent. We seldom find repentance when we think it’s the other fellow’s fault! Fooled by the conspiracy between his younger son and his wife, old Isaac gave Jacob the blessing of the firstborn. Is the way […]
When someone decides to live life by taking from others, in the end the person from whom they take the most is themselves. In order to pull off the deception of Isaac his father, Jacob and Rebekah contrived to override all five of the old man’s senses. The goat would be spiced to disguise it […]
Like a stone thrown across the surface of a lake, actions we take today can ripple across many generations. Careful! A trail of trickery follows the line of Abraham from his half-truths about Sarah through Isaac’s similar ploy, and on through Jacob and Laban and Jacob’s sons to Joseph himself. Only one of these (Joseph’s […]
The Lord said, “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it,” but like any good parent, He will only fill it with what’s good for us. Because there are significant periods of time between the recorded interactions of God with the human race, we may make false assumptions if we’re not careful. In our […]