Genesis 27:1-28:22…
Now Esau was a bit daft and he did things that really upset his parents, like marrying Canaanite women. And he sunk really low when he disregarded his birthright in favour of some lentils. But, even still, did he ever sink as low as Rebekah and Jacob do here. Isaac’s an old, blind man, never mind the fact that he’s Rebekah’s husband and Jacob’s dad. And he’s sent Esau out to hunt some game for his supper and he will give him his blessing when he returns. And the blessing that the father gave his son in those days was so important. It was binding, and guys like Isaac had such a connection with God that whatever they blessed over their son would come to be. But, having eavesdropped on that conversation, Rebekah puts this outrageous plan into action. She sends Jacob – the younger son, remember – out to get two goats while she looks out Esau’s best clothes. She cooks up a feast for Isaac and then wraps the goat’s fleece around Jacob’s flesh, because Esau was a hairy man. And then she sends him into Isaac’s tent with the stew to secure the blessing which should have been, by the conventions of the time, Esau’s. And notice Jacob seems pretty unsure about the whole thing at first… I’ll get cursed, he’ll know it’s me etc, etc. But pretty soon he gets into the swing of things and starts to lie through his teeth. ‘I am Esau, your first born.’ Isaac’s suspicious. He even states that the voice is that of Jacob. But Jacob goes on: ‘I really am Esau, honest.’ And when Isaac feels the hairiness of his hands and smells the clothes, he blesses him. And it’s some blessing.
Just then, Esau returns home and soon the realisation hits both him and Isaac. They’ve been deceived… by their own flesh and blood. Isaac’s mad. He trembled violently. Esau is a mixture of sadness, envy and rage. He begs Isaac to give him a blessing, even just a little one: ‘haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?’ But, of course, that’s not the way it works… only one son gets the blessing. And what Isaac pronounces over Esau is more of a curse. And Esau wants to kill his brother and so Jacob flees to his uncle’s house to be safe, first and foremost, and to find a wife from among Abraham’s people, unlike Esau’s Canaanite wives. Rebekah will call him back when the time is right.
Did Esau deserve this? It doesn’t seem like it with what little we know about him. But it’s through Jacob that the covenant promise to Abraham continues. It’s Jacob who will be called ‘Israel.’ And that’s obviously what God intended all along, and the dream Jacob has at Bethel just confirms it. But I can’t help but think that God had some more honest way of working things out. I can’t help but think Rebakah and Jacob took things into their own hands and they did some pretty horrific stuff.
But, nonetheless, Jacob’s the one through whom God continues to work out his plan and the fact that God chooses him – despite the lies and the deceit – is pretty amazing. And Jacob does become great. There’s a healthy does of hope in there for us, then, don’t you think. So far, it doesn’t seem like the misfits and the screw-ups who rarely seem to do what the Lord would want are ignored by God. Just the opposite, in fact! It kind of seems like they’re the people that God uses to fulfil his purposes time and time again. We might even dare to call that grace.
Matthew 10:32-11:15…
We sang a song at Soul Survivor that had the words, ‘we’re not ashamed, we’re not ashamed of you Jesus.’ That’s Jesus final command to his disciples before he sends them out, essentially. Whoever acknowledges me will be acknowledged in heaven and whoever disowns me will be disowned in heaven. In other words, if you’re ashamed of Jesus then heaven’s not the place for you. If, on the other hand, you speak for him and stand up for who he is and can boldly say that you’re not ashamed of him, consider heaven to be your home.
And he goes on with his difficult message that people who choose to follow him must love him more than their own family. And that’s not to say that families aren’t important, it’s to say that Jesus – because of who he is – requires everything that we are: every breath we take, every move we make, every drop of blood in our veins, every word we say, every thought we think. Everything. That’s what it means when he says, ‘anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.’ The people listening to Jesus that day knew what it meant to take up a cross: death. And Jesus is saying that the decision to follow him is, truly, a life and death decision. It means everything. No holding back. Essentially, Jesus is saying, are you willing to die for me? And that’s still the level of commitment that he’s looking for today. Will you die for me?
Those who will, he says – those who lose their life for his sake – will find it. If we give up our old life and give everything to Jesus then a whole new life that continues into eternity opens up before us.
And he has the right to promise that because he is the Messiah. John the Baptist was wondering if Jesus was ‘the one’ and so he sends his disciples to ask him. And it’s almost like a job interview. Go and ask Jesus, John is saying, if he fits the Messiah’s job description as it’s written throughout the Old Testament. And Jesus’ CV speaks for itself: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor. Yep, Jesus says, I’m the one you’ve been waiting for.
And since John started to preach and baptise, and now with a vengeance as Jesus shows up, the Kingdom of Heaven is advancing. And it’s our job to make sure that continues to happen today.
Psalm 9:1-6…
The psalmist, here, understands what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about and the things that happen when men lay hold of it. Praise overflows and we can’t keep it to ourselves what God has done. We burst into song. Do we see evidence of that in our lives?
And those who shttp://www.lausanne.org/participant-information/regfee.htmltand against the Kingdom turn back, ruin overtakes the enemy. But the Kingdom of Heaven stands strong because God is on the throne and he judges righteously. And that’s as true today as it has always been. The Kingdom stands strong because God is on the throne.
Now Esau was a bit daft and he did things that really upset his parents, like marrying Canaanite women. And he sunk really low when he disregarded his birthright in favour of some lentils. But, even still, did he ever sink as low as Rebekah and Jacob do here. Isaac’s an old, blind man, never mind the fact that he’s Rebekah’s husband and Jacob’s dad. And he’s sent Esau out to hunt some game for his supper and he will give him his blessing when he returns. And the blessing that the father gave his son in those days was so important. It was binding, and guys like Isaac had such a connection with God that whatever they blessed over their son would come to be. But, having eavesdropped on that conversation, Rebekah puts this outrageous plan into action. She sends Jacob – the younger son, remember – out to get two goats while she looks out Esau’s best clothes. She cooks up a feast for Isaac and then wraps the goat’s fleece around Jacob’s flesh, because Esau was a hairy man. And then she sends him into Isaac’s tent with the stew to secure the blessing which should have been, by the conventions of the time, Esau’s. And notice Jacob seems pretty unsure about the whole thing at first… I’ll get cursed, he’ll know it’s me etc, etc. But pretty soon he gets into the swing of things and starts to lie through his teeth. ‘I am Esau, your first born.’ Isaac’s suspicious. He even states that the voice is that of Jacob. But Jacob goes on: ‘I really am Esau, honest.’ And when Isaac feels the hairiness of his hands and smells the clothes, he blesses him. And it’s some blessing.
Just then, Esau returns home and soon the realisation hits both him and Isaac. They’ve been deceived… by their own flesh and blood. Isaac’s mad. He trembled violently. Esau is a mixture of sadness, envy and rage. He begs Isaac to give him a blessing, even just a little one: ‘haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?’ But, of course, that’s not the way it works… only one son gets the blessing. And what Isaac pronounces over Esau is more of a curse. And Esau wants to kill his brother and so Jacob flees to his uncle’s house to be safe, first and foremost, and to find a wife from among Abraham’s people, unlike Esau’s Canaanite wives. Rebekah will call him back when the time is right.
Did Esau deserve this? It doesn’t seem like it with what little we know about him. But it’s through Jacob that the covenant promise to Abraham continues. It’s Jacob who will be called ‘Israel.’ And that’s obviously what God intended all along, and the dream Jacob has at Bethel just confirms it. But I can’t help but think that God had some more honest way of working things out. I can’t help but think Rebakah and Jacob took things into their own hands and they did some pretty horrific stuff.
But, nonetheless, Jacob’s the one through whom God continues to work out his plan and the fact that God chooses him – despite the lies and the deceit – is pretty amazing. And Jacob does become great. There’s a healthy does of hope in there for us, then, don’t you think. So far, it doesn’t seem like the misfits and the screw-ups who rarely seem to do what the Lord would want are ignored by God. Just the opposite, in fact! It kind of seems like they’re the people that God uses to fulfil his purposes time and time again. We might even dare to call that grace.
Matthew 10:32-11:15…
We sang a song at Soul Survivor that had the words, ‘we’re not ashamed, we’re not ashamed of you Jesus.’ That’s Jesus final command to his disciples before he sends them out, essentially. Whoever acknowledges me will be acknowledged in heaven and whoever disowns me will be disowned in heaven. In other words, if you’re ashamed of Jesus then heaven’s not the place for you. If, on the other hand, you speak for him and stand up for who he is and can boldly say that you’re not ashamed of him, consider heaven to be your home.
And he goes on with his difficult message that people who choose to follow him must love him more than their own family. And that’s not to say that families aren’t important, it’s to say that Jesus – because of who he is – requires everything that we are: every breath we take, every move we make, every drop of blood in our veins, every word we say, every thought we think. Everything. That’s what it means when he says, ‘anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.’ The people listening to Jesus that day knew what it meant to take up a cross: death. And Jesus is saying that the decision to follow him is, truly, a life and death decision. It means everything. No holding back. Essentially, Jesus is saying, are you willing to die for me? And that’s still the level of commitment that he’s looking for today. Will you die for me?
Those who will, he says – those who lose their life for his sake – will find it. If we give up our old life and give everything to Jesus then a whole new life that continues into eternity opens up before us.
And he has the right to promise that because he is the Messiah. John the Baptist was wondering if Jesus was ‘the one’ and so he sends his disciples to ask him. And it’s almost like a job interview. Go and ask Jesus, John is saying, if he fits the Messiah’s job description as it’s written throughout the Old Testament. And Jesus’ CV speaks for itself: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor. Yep, Jesus says, I’m the one you’ve been waiting for.
And since John started to preach and baptise, and now with a vengeance as Jesus shows up, the Kingdom of Heaven is advancing. And it’s our job to make sure that continues to happen today.
Psalm 9:1-6…
The psalmist, here, understands what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about and the things that happen when men lay hold of it. Praise overflows and we can’t keep it to ourselves what God has done. We burst into song. Do we see evidence of that in our lives?
And those who shttp://www.lausanne.org/participant-information/regfee.htmltand against the Kingdom turn back, ruin overtakes the enemy. But the Kingdom of Heaven stands strong because God is on the throne and he judges righteously. And that’s as true today as it has always been. The Kingdom stands strong because God is on the throne.
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