Genesis 25:1-26:35…
And so we say goodbye to Abraham who has been our first major figure of faith so far, the one with whom the covenant was made and who stood before the Lord. At 175 years old he ‘breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years.’ Isaac and Ishmael – his first two sons who we rarely see together – bury him next to his wife, Sarah, and that’s that. But Abraham still resonates through the pages of the Bible as the first real hero of faith and the one with whom God made the covenant. Indeed, one of the ways we identify God as the God we believe in is as the God or Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And it’s to Isaac that we now turn. Isaac, the one through whom the numerous descendants would come – the people of God. Yet, hold on, Rebekah, his wife, can’t have children either! Is it simply the case that God likes to do things the hard way? Or is it the case that God’s people are the result of miracles left, right and centre. Even today, God’s people exist because of the miracle of faith that God works in people’s lives.
And, sure enough, Isaac prays and God enables Rebekah to conceive twins: Esau and Jacob. Now Esau was a hairy man, red hair no less and lots of it. He’s the older one. Jacob, on the other hand, seems fairly non-descript as we’re told only that he came out holding onto Esau’s heel. And Esau’s an extrovert, a hunter, the man about town (or country as it happened). Jacob’s an introvert, a thinker a quiet kind of guy.
Yet Esau’s ‘life and soul of the party’ approach means that he held his birthright in low regard – and your birthright in those days was so important that it’s hard for us to imagine. One day, Esau returned from the countryside and was starving, to the extent that he sold his birthright – his father’s blessing, the opportunity to be in charge and the chance to be the one through whom God’s covenant would continue – for a bowl of lentil stew. Now, I like lentils a lot, but even I wouldn’t be so stupid as to favour them over a birthright. Come on! Although they didn’t know he’d done this, Esau, we soon discover, was a constant source of grief to his parents as Genesis 26:35 tells us. We discover the result of his stupidity tomorrow.
You’ll have also noticed that Isaac does exactly what his dad did and passes off his wife as his sister. Didn’t he learn anything? But, whilst he clearly picked up some of Abraham’s more questionable qualities he also picked up his best trait: being in love with God. Just like Abraham, Isaac ‘called on the name of the Lord’ at Beersheba and that’s by far the most important thing a child can ever learn from their parents.
Matthew 10:1-31…
Matthew gives us a list of the twelve disciples and then tells us what Jesus instructions were to them before he sent them out. Now, the disciples haven’t been with Jesus very long at this point but Jesus is clear that following him life is not about spending ages learning what to do and theorising about it and, basically, staying in a safe place. Rather, what we see Jesus doing is telling his disciples that in order to learn what it means to be Christian you’ve simply got to get out there and do it. I guess it’s like riding a bike or learning to swim. You can read books by the dozen about cycling or how to survive in the water. You can attend classes with experts on the subjects. You can watch others on their bicycles and swimming away merrily. But if you never get on a bike or into the water you’re never going to figure out how to cycle or how to swim.
To be a Christian you’ve simply got to get out there and have a go. That’s what Jesus is saying here.
And let me highlight just a few of the things he tells his disciples to do (which he’s telling us to). Preach a very simple message: ‘the Kingdom of heaven is near.’ Don’t get too wordy. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy and drive out demons. In other words, if you believe that Jesus has given you authority (he has, by the way), then have the courage to pray with and for people and have the faith that you’ll see miracles happen. Don’t take anything with you other than necessities (shoes, clothes, but no money). Jesus is all you need. And it’s going to be hard, the disciples were warned about floggings and appearing in court. You’ll probably find yourself in some interesting situations too, but the Spirit of the Father will be with you. And through it all, God who knows the number of hairs on your head and cares for each and every sparrow, will be looking after you. After all, you’re worth more than many sparrows.
So, have a go… use this passage as a kind of textbook. Christianity is to be lived, not just talked about. Do you have the courage to live it out wherever you find yourself this week?
Proverbs 1:20-33…
We meet lady wisdom for the first time – a good woman to know. And, just so you know, we’re talking spiritual wisdom for how best to live and follow God, not the ability to answer all the questions on University Challenge!
Part of living out the faith is learning to be wise. We do that by listening to God (through prayer and Bible reading) and by listening to people who are already wise, often older folk, and who will give you good advice. Let’s not be daft and foolish and reject wisdom. Rather, let’s answer wisdom when she calls and look for her everywhere we go. In other words, let try not to be stupid but instead seek to walk the way that God has set before us, then we won’t need to be afraid of any harm.
And so we say goodbye to Abraham who has been our first major figure of faith so far, the one with whom the covenant was made and who stood before the Lord. At 175 years old he ‘breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years.’ Isaac and Ishmael – his first two sons who we rarely see together – bury him next to his wife, Sarah, and that’s that. But Abraham still resonates through the pages of the Bible as the first real hero of faith and the one with whom God made the covenant. Indeed, one of the ways we identify God as the God we believe in is as the God or Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And it’s to Isaac that we now turn. Isaac, the one through whom the numerous descendants would come – the people of God. Yet, hold on, Rebekah, his wife, can’t have children either! Is it simply the case that God likes to do things the hard way? Or is it the case that God’s people are the result of miracles left, right and centre. Even today, God’s people exist because of the miracle of faith that God works in people’s lives.
And, sure enough, Isaac prays and God enables Rebekah to conceive twins: Esau and Jacob. Now Esau was a hairy man, red hair no less and lots of it. He’s the older one. Jacob, on the other hand, seems fairly non-descript as we’re told only that he came out holding onto Esau’s heel. And Esau’s an extrovert, a hunter, the man about town (or country as it happened). Jacob’s an introvert, a thinker a quiet kind of guy.
Yet Esau’s ‘life and soul of the party’ approach means that he held his birthright in low regard – and your birthright in those days was so important that it’s hard for us to imagine. One day, Esau returned from the countryside and was starving, to the extent that he sold his birthright – his father’s blessing, the opportunity to be in charge and the chance to be the one through whom God’s covenant would continue – for a bowl of lentil stew. Now, I like lentils a lot, but even I wouldn’t be so stupid as to favour them over a birthright. Come on! Although they didn’t know he’d done this, Esau, we soon discover, was a constant source of grief to his parents as Genesis 26:35 tells us. We discover the result of his stupidity tomorrow.
You’ll have also noticed that Isaac does exactly what his dad did and passes off his wife as his sister. Didn’t he learn anything? But, whilst he clearly picked up some of Abraham’s more questionable qualities he also picked up his best trait: being in love with God. Just like Abraham, Isaac ‘called on the name of the Lord’ at Beersheba and that’s by far the most important thing a child can ever learn from their parents.
Matthew 10:1-31…
Matthew gives us a list of the twelve disciples and then tells us what Jesus instructions were to them before he sent them out. Now, the disciples haven’t been with Jesus very long at this point but Jesus is clear that following him life is not about spending ages learning what to do and theorising about it and, basically, staying in a safe place. Rather, what we see Jesus doing is telling his disciples that in order to learn what it means to be Christian you’ve simply got to get out there and do it. I guess it’s like riding a bike or learning to swim. You can read books by the dozen about cycling or how to survive in the water. You can attend classes with experts on the subjects. You can watch others on their bicycles and swimming away merrily. But if you never get on a bike or into the water you’re never going to figure out how to cycle or how to swim.
To be a Christian you’ve simply got to get out there and have a go. That’s what Jesus is saying here.
And let me highlight just a few of the things he tells his disciples to do (which he’s telling us to). Preach a very simple message: ‘the Kingdom of heaven is near.’ Don’t get too wordy. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy and drive out demons. In other words, if you believe that Jesus has given you authority (he has, by the way), then have the courage to pray with and for people and have the faith that you’ll see miracles happen. Don’t take anything with you other than necessities (shoes, clothes, but no money). Jesus is all you need. And it’s going to be hard, the disciples were warned about floggings and appearing in court. You’ll probably find yourself in some interesting situations too, but the Spirit of the Father will be with you. And through it all, God who knows the number of hairs on your head and cares for each and every sparrow, will be looking after you. After all, you’re worth more than many sparrows.
So, have a go… use this passage as a kind of textbook. Christianity is to be lived, not just talked about. Do you have the courage to live it out wherever you find yourself this week?
Proverbs 1:20-33…
We meet lady wisdom for the first time – a good woman to know. And, just so you know, we’re talking spiritual wisdom for how best to live and follow God, not the ability to answer all the questions on University Challenge!
Part of living out the faith is learning to be wise. We do that by listening to God (through prayer and Bible reading) and by listening to people who are already wise, often older folk, and who will give you good advice. Let’s not be daft and foolish and reject wisdom. Rather, let’s answer wisdom when she calls and look for her everywhere we go. In other words, let try not to be stupid but instead seek to walk the way that God has set before us, then we won’t need to be afraid of any harm.
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