Wednesday, August 08, 2018

2018.08.08 Hopewell @Home ▫ Genesis 27:41-28:9

Questions for Littles: What did Esau plan to do (v41)? Who found out (v42)? Whom did she tell? Where did she want to send him (v43)? How long did she think it would take (v44)? How does Rebekah set Isaac up to send Jacob away (v46)? What does Isaac do in vv1-2? What does he add in vv3-4? When had he done this before? What is different this time? When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, what did Esau do (v6-9)?
In the passage for this week’s Old Testament reading, we find sinful people being sinful, and our merciful God being merciful.

Esau is vengeful and murderous. Not only does he want to kill Jacob, but when he says that the days of mourning for Isaac are at hand, he may even be implying that he’s willing to accelerate his father’s pace to the grave.

Rebekah is still operating a spy network, and is ready to put another manipulative plan into action. She plays on the irritating Hittite daughters-in-law.

But we do see a repentant sinner, by God’s mercy. Isaac. He’d been fighting the idea of giving Jacob the blessing. He tried to put one over on God.

But, at last, he shook with the realization that Jacob would indeed be blessed. Now, he takes the opportunity to bless Jacob with his eyes wide-open (so to speak). We could have easily missed it, but vv3-4 are Isaac finally yielding himself to the Lord’s word and willingly giving Jacob the blessing of Abraham.

What a mercy of God to him to give Isaac such a second opportunity! And the greatest mercy of God is that all of this occurs in the process of bringing the Christ into the world.

Sadly, sometimes there are deep and abiding consequences to our sin. Rebekah thought her manipulations would separate her from Jacob for a few days. As far as we know, she never saw him again. Oh what a tangled web we weave…
What costly sins have you committed? How has God been merciful anyway?
Suggested songs: ARP51A “God, Be Merciful to Me” or TPH459 “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”

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