Genesis 28:5-9

2008.Oct.10 17:50

Missing the Point

Isaac then sent Jacob to stay with Rebekah's brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Esau found out that his father Isaac had blessed Jacob and had warned him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. He also learned that Jacob had been sent to find a wife in northern Syria and that he had obeyed his father and mother. Esau already had several wives, but he realized at last how much his father hated the Canaanite women. So he married Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaioth and the granddaughter of Abraham.
(Genesis 28:5-9, CEV)

Esau starts to clue in that his parents did not want him marrying a woman from Canaan. Too late, though, because he has already done so at least twice. Now, while I agree that Esau needs to honor his parents and should certainly have sought their advice in his marital decisions, it’s a little funky that this grown, married man–who has apparently not much cared in the past–is trying so hard to win his parents’ favor.

The solution chosen by Esau is not to follow his brother to Laban’s home, which is probably a wise abstention, but to marry one of his paternal cousins, Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael (and, the Bible notes for us, sister of Nebaioth, whoever that is. I’d look it up, but alas, I am without internet connection today).

But I think the point Esau continues to miss is obedience. He doesn’t so much see (reading between the lines) that Jacob “obeyed his father and mother,” but rather the results of a particular act of obedience. Esau, I think, is still trying to find a good equation or system for pleasing others and getting through life. But he does appear interested in lifestyle changes, in placing correct values on things, in continually honoring his parents, in obeying Yahweh and his elders (where appropriate regarding the elders). Esau wants one off, quicky solutions. Which have nothing to do with the kingdom of God.

Genesis 24:9-14

2008.Feb.16 04:27

A Specific Request

Read Genesis 24:9-14 | Full Chapter

So the servant gave Abraham his word that he would do everything he had been told to do. Soon after that, the servant loaded ten of Abraham's camels with valuable gifts. Then he set out for the city in northern Syria, where Abraham's brother Nahor lived. When he got there, he let the camels rest near the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when the women came out for water.
(Genesis 24:9-11, CEV)

The servant, having clarified Abraham’s request, agrees to fulfill it. He then acts according to the promise he made. If Abraham, proverbially, had said “Jump”, the servant would have said “How high?”, and then jumped to that height.

I was about to just give high marks to the servant and move on to the next few verses, but quoting the “When I say jump” stuff has my mind going another direction. I have often found myself hearing that expression and thinking that if I told somebody to jump and they asked me to clarify just how high they should jump, slappings would ensue. I mean, seriously, if I wanted to be that specific, I would say so. If I thought of it. Maybe…

And there’s the trouble, when do I ask for more specific instructions and when should I just go forth and do, filling in the gaps as needed. This is particularly difficult when the instructor is unlikely to know how much I know. Or, from the other side, how detailed should my instructions be to others? And what about instructions from God?

I feel confident in saying that there is a balance between no details and too many, whether the giver or receiver of the instructions. But a more important point is that new instructions should not serve as a reason to ignore those of the past. In particular, a new “calling” from God does not give me leave to violate his commandments; if I think I have received a calling which would require me to disobey his word, then I can safely assume I misheard his more recent instructions, or they were not indeed from Yahweh.

This could lead back into a “new” versus “old” covenant discussion, but I’m not up to that right now; and would probably make a fool of myself if I tried. Now, trying to get back on track…

The servant prayed: You, LORD, are the God my master Abraham worships. Please keep your promise to him and let me find a wife for Isaac today. The young women of the city will soon come to this well for water, and I'll ask one of them for a drink. If she gives me a drink and then offers to get some water for my camels, I'll know she is the one you have chosen and that you have kept your promise to my master.
(Genesis 24:12-14, CEV)

The servant is aware that the task is not something that he can really do on his own. Sure, he could wander around town, find the hottest unmarried gal, and say, “Hey, wouldja like to marry a millionaire?” But the servant has shown himself loyal to Abraham, and so he wants to do better than “good enough”. The servant, faced with this challenge, does what I often forget to do. He asks Yahweh for help.

The servant does tell make a precise request to Yahweh as to just what sort of woman he expects that God will direct him to. Yet, he is very specific in stating what signs he wants God to use to reveal his (God’s) desire. Now, the particular indications alone would likely lead the servant to a good woman, one who is certainly very hospitable, but the servant is expecting Yahweh to ensure that the particular woman he desires to marry Isaac will be the one to give the servant a drink and offer to water his camels.

I’m not sure about the practice of asking God for a particular sign, but it’s certainly better than not asking him for help or ignoring his direction. As with the discussion of should I ask for more details or simply press forth (or a balance), the question is valid, but the key is obeying Yahweh’s commands, seeking his help, and worshiping him.

Genesis 24:5-8

2008.Feb.08 00:30

Read Genesis 24:5-8 | Full Chapter

Abraham, as noted last entry, is assigning his eldest household servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham, in asking the servant to accomplish this task gives him two restrictions. The first was that the servant must seek a bride for Isaac from among Abraham’s relatives, not from among the Canaanites. Now, we come to second:

The servant said to him, "Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?" Abraham answered him, "Make sure that you don't take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from my native land, who spoke to me and swore to me, 'I will give this land to your offspring '— He will send His angel before you, and you can take a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don't let my son go back there."
(Genesis 24:5-8, Holman)

The servant, while heading back to Abraham’s native country, is to ensure that Isaac stays in Palestine. Abraham and Isaac are, I assume, fairly nomadic. Abraham and Sarah certainly have moved around a lot. And while Abraham has taken hold of Yahweh’s promise that his descendants will inherit the land of the Canaanites, there’s no indication that Isaac wouldn’t migrate on back to the ancestral homeland. Especially if he went back there to get married.

For me, there’s often the temptation to return to what is comfortable. Having grown up as an alien may have been very trying for Isaac. Returning as the heir of Abraham’s success to his relatives and there “settling down” would, I think, have been tempting. And yet it was not in line with Yahweh’s plans. Welcome to earth. This is one of the key differences of pick-and-choose religion for my immediate benefits verses obeying God, that obedience to Yahweh means doing what is uncomfortable, even when I will not inherit the promise of that obedience. Because inheriting the land will not be Isaac, nor his children.

Genesis 22:13-19

2007.Dec.30 04:44

Obedience and Blessing

Read Genesis 22:13-19 | Full Chapter

Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. Abraham named that place “The LORD Will Provide.” And even now people say, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” The LORD’s angel called out from heaven a second time: You were willing to offer the LORD your only son, and so he makes you this solemn promise, “I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the beach. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live. You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth.” Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him, and they returned to Abraham’s home in Beersheba.
(Genesis 22:13-19, CEV)

I’m a guy. So I’ve daydreamed about being a super spy and saving the world. Gals probably do this too, but I figure it’s a requirement for growing up a boy in our culture. Whether it’s a positive requirement is another issue.

My daydreams, though, keep running into a problem. How does a Christian pull off super-spy? Lying seems pretty much a requirement (what exactly the ninth commandment – the no-lying one – covers is an issue I will probably delve into deeper when I get to Exodus 20). Add to that somewhat indiscriminately killing folks, and my daydreams keep running into moral issues. Is it even possible for a Christian spy to succeed or does an occupation like that require an amoral outlook on life?

Abraham’s situation is (only vaguely) similar. He has been called him to do something, that I would guess, Abraham cannot imagine being acceptable to Jehovah. Especially weird is that the Jehovah himself is the one who called Abraham to sacrifice his son. He is in a self-contradictory situation. Can there be any solution?

Yes. “The LORD will provide.”

If the only way I can see to make my daydreams work requires either sin or pain to others, they end as daydreams. However, if God gives me a clear instruction, I can follow it even if I don’t see the “way”, knowing that he will provide. Of course, I need to check what I believe I’ve heard against the Word, and, if it still appears problematic (and often even if not), I need to talk with other Christians that I trust, but having done those things, I can rely on the knowledge that Jehovah will provide.

When considering obedience in impossible situations, I often think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. “Your Majesty,” the book of Daniel records telling Nebuchadnezzar, "we don’t need to defend ourselves. The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up”" (Daniel 3:16-18, CEV) .

In other words, when obeying God puts me in what I see as an impossible situation, know that:

God can provide the means I cannot; and
Even if he doesn’t, I should be obedient and worship him.

The reward, as it is here for Abraham, is often great blessing, but being obedient to Jehovah is an end to itself.

Genesis 22:3-10

2007.Dec.21 02:07

Obedience by Step

Read Genesis 22:3-10 | Full Chapter

So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go. Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. He told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back.” Abraham put the wood on Isaac’s shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, Isaac said, “Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the lamb.” The two of them walked on, and when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son.
(Genesis 22:3-10, CEV)

“Faith without works,” James reminds us, "is dead" (James 2:26, NASB) . I’m not in the mood to focus on Abraham’s faith. Of course he had faith. He’d already sent off a son and a (former?) lover on the basis of God promising to take care of them. So, now he’s going to sacrifice one. Yay, he has faith. Okay, so what? I’m not sure it’s of any value to read this passage and just say, “Abraham had faith”.

After reading Mark 4 a few days ago, I had these thoughts:

Consistently have faith and be obedient. The farmer didn’t understand how the seed grew, but he had faith that it would and therefore did the work required of him, preparing, planting, fertilizing and harvesting. It requires consistency. Those who let their reception of God’s word be choked by cares of the world, those who spring up quickly with no root, could have never lasted to the harvest; in the former case, they probably wouldn’t have even obeyed to the planting. Faith and obedience are inseparable in the kingdom of heaven. In many ways, they are two sides of the same. But with such faith, the return can be incredible.

Here, Abraham has faith, but it is his obedience which makes that faith matter. He could have had faith that Yahweh could raise or rescue Isaac and not actually acted at all toward that end. Instead, he had faith, and then through that faith, acted in obedience. "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son" (Hebrews 1:17, NASB) .

This thought reminds me of an article by Joel Spolsky entitled “Fire and Motion”. The article talks about applying the fire and motion military strategy to software development. In his conclusion, Spolsky states simply, “you have to move forward every day”. I think that’s an important part of pursuing righteousness, of becoming more obedient. You simply aren’t going to get saved and be super-obedient person. Actually, you’re not going to be there 50 years later. And that can get discouraging. I don’t know Abraham’s frame of mind, but if I were in his shoes, I would not be thinking about being atop the mountain; I’d focus on getting there. Abraham starts by obeying, he starts by moving. Ultimately, Abraham has obeyed enough that he finds himself at the point of actually sacrificing his son. Fortunately, as it will turn out, Yahweh has no intention of Abraham carrying through with the act.

Often Yahweh asks people to do things we never think we could do. But if we’ll obey him in the first step, then the second, then the third…

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