worth pursuing.
As the plot line unfolds, we are reminded from time to time that life is going along at other levels. For instance, there is the Sodom and Gomorrah story. Here is a rather impressive cultural civilization that must, at the time, have seemed far more significant than Abraham, who was living as a nomad. Yet it is this rustic who struggles to save Sodom and Gomorrah. If he had been successful, nobody in those cities would have known it, of course. We’re told also of the preservation of Hagar and her son Ishmael; they seem at times to be a subplot, and they will reappear in the New Testament in the apostle Paul’s faith discussion (Galatians 4:21-31). And along the way information is interjected about the families of Abraham’s kin (Genesis 22:20-24) and of Abraham’s later children (25:1-6), and it is made clear that these descendants are not part of the faith story.
But the faith story itself touches all of life. So when a wife must be found for Isaac, it is not simply a matter of finding a desirable and worthy person. She must be true to the vision that first impelled Abraham and Sarah, and she must be willing to enter upon the same pilgrimage that has controlled their lives (Genesis 24). The faith plot may seem at times almost to slip from view or be lost in the maze of the secular, but it is always present; and when the issue is crucial, it becomes the dominant factor.
Seeing Life Through Scripture
Faith is not simple, not even for good people, not even for saints. The lives of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah ought to instruct us at that point. We may sometimes be troubled by their inconsistencies (especially if we are momentarily dull to our own), but we might also be encouraged by them. If they made it, and were even crucial to God’s plan, surely there is hope for us!
This is not to justify our sins or our lapses in righteousness but to recognize that goodness doesn’t come easily. There are no sudden saints.
The Bible shows that it is not a propaganda document that tells only the favorable elements in the story, nor is it a sales pitch that suggests that anybody can be a saint. Yes, anybody can; but it won’t be easy. Nor will those who make it be able to boast about the way they achieved. God uses inconsistent people because they are the only kind available, and sometimes the failures of God’s servants become the loom upon which the purposes of God are woven.
So when the drama comes to its close, whether in the ultimate story or in the lives of individual participants, we will prove not only that we are saved by grace but also that the greatest souls have become saints by grace too.
The Sum of It All
“God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations’” (Genesis 17:9).
| GENESIS 28–30 | Week 3, Day 1 |
Almost any circumstance of life can be endured if only occasionally there is a Bethel. As it happens, our Bethels often come when the circumstances are most bleak. Jacob is a fugitive now, alone in a trackless wilderness, but God visits him in a dream and promises him blessings for himself and his offspring.
The blessing begins soon thereafter in the household of his uncle Laban, as he falls in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel. But the blessings come with a price, because Jacob and Laban are cut from the same cloth. It’s fascinating to watch these two clever dealers outwitting each other.
Jacob’s cleverness is no match, however, for the problems he encounters in being married to the sisters Leah and Rachel. It is Rachel whom he loves, but it is Leah who is fruitful; and as the years go by he is caught between their jealousies and resentments.
But his family grows, and so does his wealth. Clever as Laban is, Jacob is more clever. He gradually builds a small fortune; and while it is the result of his own ingenuity and hard work, it can also be said that he would never have had the opportunity if it had not been for his father-in-law. Above all, Jacob enjoys the favor and blessing of God. And while his pursuit of God’s purposes is sometimes misguided, it is to Jacob’s credit that he never loses sight of what is best.
PRAYER: Help me this day to keep my eyes fixed on your will, O Lord, that my life may fulfill your purposes; to your glory. Amen.
Make a list of similar characteristics you observe in Laban and Jacob.
| GENESIS 31–33 | Week 3, Day 2 |
Almost all of us have some unfinished business in our lives, and the sooner we deal with it, the better off we’ll be. Jacob had more than his share. These chapters report his handling of each matter.
First, there’s his father-in-law, Laban. When Jacob sensed that trouble was brewing with his brothers-in-law, he fled the territory, but Laban soon caught up with him. In truth, both Jacob and Laban had poor records, and they settled matters in a rather tentative way, a truce of suspicion.
Chapter 32 records the story of Jacob’s encounter with God, but it begins with Jacob’s unfinished business with his brother, Esau. Over twenty years have gone by since Jacob defrauded him and since Esau vowed murderous revenge. Jacob apparently wants to make things right; but when he sends emissaries ahead, he learns that Esau is coming to meet him with four hundred men.
Jacob organizes a diplomatic mission, but he is not at peace. That night he separates himself from every living person, only to find himself confronted by a Stranger.
Jacob and the Stranger wrestle through the night until at last Jacob wins by giving up. The Stranger gives Jacob a new name, Israel, the name that will ever after be that of his people.
Who was the Stranger? Centuries later Charles Wesley, putting himself in Jacob’s place, said, “ ’Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me.” We aren’t surprised that Jacob’s meeting the next day with Esau was successful. Having done business with God, he was ready to meet his brother.
PRAYER: Conquer my soul, O God, till I know your name is Love. Amen.
What connection do you see between Jacob’s apprehension at the coming meeting with his brother Esau and his experience with the Divine Stranger?
| GENESIS 34–36; PSALM 20 | Week 3, Day 3 |
If you believe that the Bible is the story of God’s dealings with our human race, as I do, you may wonder why Chapter 34 is included. It is a primitive story, full of violence. It makes clear, however, that Israel was already committed to a higher level of sexual morality than the other nations, and that at least to a degree, there was more respect for women.
But it’s also clear that they expressed their convictions in crude fashion, leaving Jacob in a perilous position. In this crisis Jacob returns to Bethel, with instructions to build an altar. It is as if the bad prospects were forcing him to re-examine his past, remembering his two major encounters with God, and to renew his vows. He remembers that God sustained him in other difficult times, and he turns to God again. It’s good to be able to call back some experiences of mercy to carry one through a current crisis.
Now
