How Sweet the Sound

Ok, so I read Genesis 27-29 today, and I've got to tell you, it always leaves me messed up.  I've read these stories over and over and over, and never walk away without shaking my head.  I really, really want to encourage you to read them for yourself.  But here is a short summary of the story.

Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob.  Esau is older and should receive the inheritance and blessing.  Jacob bought the inheritance earlier for a bowl of soup.  Now, he and his mom trick his father into giving him the blessing as well.  He puts on his brother's clothing so he smells like him, and goat skins so he will feel like his hairy brother.  (Just how hairy is this dude, anyway?!)  Since Isaac is blind, it works.  When Esau comes home and finds out what has been done, he begs his dad for a blessing.  The blessing Esau gets is that he will have to live in the desert, he will be a warrior, and his brother will rule over him, but eventually he will get sick of it and rise up.  Okay, really?  This is the dad's blessing??  That's horrible on so many levels.

Jacob runs for it, and flees to his relatives far away.  He goes to find a wife there.  When he gets there, he falls for third cousin named Rebekkah.  She is beautiful, and he wants to marry her.  He agrees to work for seven years to gain permission to marry her.  The Bible says it seems like a few days because of his love for her.  Awww, isn't that romantic?  Well, hold on.  It goes downhill again.  The wedding comes, and Jacob gets so plastered that his uncle sends in Rebekkah's older sister, Leah.  Guess what?  She's blind too.  So, he sleeps with her, and doesn't know it's not Rebekkah.  Yeah, he's not THAT romantic if he can pull this off.  So then he has to work seven more years to get Rebekkah.

Meanwhile, his bro back home realizes that his parents don't like his wives, and he marries someone more acceptable to impress his parents.  He was so blind to what was going on, he didn't realize his parents didn't like his wives. 

So now Jacob has two wives.  He loves one and not the other.  Leah, the unloved, is given four sons.  So Jacob doesn't love her, but they are still able to conceive four boys.

Everytime I read these stories, I get mad.  These guys are heroes of the faith?  They are Jerry Springer rejects!  They are selfish, conceited, deceitful, angry, murderous, lying, hateful, dysfunctional people.  ALL of them are.  These are Jesus' great(x20) grandparents for pete's sake!

BUT, God uses them.  They found the nation that saves the world.  God speaks directly to them.  Why?  Not because they earned it.  It's because of Him.  Through the whole story, with the "blind" motif seen over and over, it says that God sees what is going on, and gets involved.  He keeps promises, He shows grace, He works miracles, He cares for the broken.  Why?  Because that is who He is.  Our junk can't stop him.  Ever.

That's the real story here.  Not the Malcolm in the Middle level of dysfunction.  The unbelievable, beautiful, awe inspiring, powerful, over arching Grace of God.

And He offers it to us.  To our friends.  To our enemies.  To the people on Springer.

Always.

Everyday.

He comes to us and offers Grace.

Amazing Grace.

God's Favorite Dysfunctional Family

Today my reading hit Genesis 25 and 26.  The stories involve Isaac and Rebekkah, and their sons Esau and Jacob.  It's Abraham's son (Isaac) and then his grandsons.

A couple of things hit me today.  Isaac is told to stay in the land of Israel, even though there is a famine.  He could have went to Egypt where there were supplies and food, but God said to stay.  So he does, even though there is a famine.  God multiplies his money and family, and then blesses his crops.  While there is a famine.  But then, he has conflict with the people around him, because they are jealous of him being blessed.  So, he sent away with his crew.  As they try to find a new place to settle, every time they get to a well, someone argues with them about whose well it is.  Instead of fighting, Isaac moves on, until finally he hits a well and no one fights with him about it.  Who cares, right?  Think about it a bit.  The famine, the crops, and the well are all of the needs of life.  It equates to our jobs, homes, food, bills, and money.  Same idea.  Isaac is in trouble with his needs.  They are going to starve.  God says stay put and trust me.  Don't fix it yourself, but trust me.  He does.  God blesses him.  Then, because God took care of him, it causes conflict.  His obedience cost him in his relationships.  He moves on, without causing problems, and again faces issues of need (water).  Continuing to be a peacemaker, God provides.  How often in life when we need something do we simply devise a plan to fix it and move on, without ever asking God?  That would have been like Isaac moving to Egypt.  Problem solved.  But God had different plans, and different blessings for Isaac.  Do we miss the same types of blessings when we don't stop and ask God what we should do?

Secondly, Isaac's kids.  Geesh.  Esau is this all guy, hairy, drives a truck with a gun rack, shoots everything in sight, makes quick decisions, and let's his temper guide him type of guy.  Jacob stays home with mom, would rather cook than hunt, and is always trying to leverage things to go his way.  Parenting those two?  What a nightmare.  Both are seen as kind of jerky.  But God still uses them to accomplish his plans.  The parents screwed them up, both boys did their own things, yet God worked in and through them.  It's so good to know that none of us are past God's dreams and His reach.

The stories of this family are like a weird, but true, soap opera.  I encourage you to take some time and read them for yourself.  And then ask, where am I in this story?