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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Gen. 25-26
God is faithful to His promises, and His promises aren’t only for His chosen people. Though Ishmael was not of God’s chosen line, God blessed him, just as He had promised to do. Interestingly, both Isaac and Ishmael fathered twelve tribes. Even more interesting to me, however, is the path to that blessing for each one. Ishmael’s blessing was fairly immediate. The twelve tribes he fathered came directly from his own twelve sons. Isaac’s path was not so direct.
It was to Isaac that God confirmed His oath to Abraham. God told Isaac, “I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring” (Gen. 26:4). Yet, unlike Ishmael, Isaac had only two sons, and he had Rebekah 20 years before they came. It was the younger of these two sons, through much hardship and contention, who finally fathered the twelve sons who would become the nation of Israel. And we know that didn’t even happen for another several hundred years and many hardships later.
I bring all of this up because I think it paints a clear picture of a Biblical truth taught by Jesus Himself. Most people, by nature, don’t like delayed gratification. We want our blessings and rewards here and now. But Jesus taught us to store up our rewards in Heaven. He said that those who seek their rewards now will have them, but will be lacking later, when it counts. Those who set aside what they could have now in favor of what comes later, however, will receive their true reward from God.
Ishmael got his twelve tribes. But it was Isaac who ultimately received God’s full promise. We need to remember that God’s true blessing and full promise are not for the here and now. Thus, we need to hold fast in faith through all the hardship that stands between us and the end of the story. God WILL be faithful to His promise. Let’s not get impatient and distracted with lesser things.
Gen. 27
Every time I read through the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I find myself scratching my head at how God’s blessings so often seemed to come through their deceptions. It’s almost as if God rewards their bad behavior. But that really isn’t it at all. The Bible tells us enough about God to know that He doesn’t need our deceptions to further His plan. How, then, are we to interpret what we see in these stories?
I think one truth we need to see is that God’s blessing did not come on this chosen line because they deserved it. Fathers of Faith though they were, these people were as subject to the human condition as any of us. God blessed them, not because of their character, but in spite of it. Another truth is that God is faithful, not because of our actions, but because He is faithful. Yet another truth I see is that our faith does not have to be perfect for God to act.
The beautiful thing in it all is that God’s faithfulness to His promises of blessing aren’t dependent on us at all. “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8). God comes to us in our sinful state, just as He did for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. More than that, I believe He uses our shortcomings to work out His great plan for us. He is strong in our weakness so there can be no doubt that the work is all His.