Are you facing a Jericho?

Recently we studied the story of Rahab, which centered around the siege and fall of her hometown, Jericho. With a massive series of walls, Jericho must have seemed insurmountable to the Israelites. Huge, solid, inpenetrable.

But the walls fell.

There's an important passage that we didn't focus on, that perhaps we should have. Here it is:

                   Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" The captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

Think about this for a moment. Who was Joshua? In today's language, he'd be the equivalent of a five-star general. Head honcho. Top dog.  He was the leader of huge numbers of mighty men and soldiers, and there were a couple of million people who followed him.

It doesn't say he was alone. There may have been people around. Kinda awkward, no? Just suddenly falling down and worshiping? Something tells me that it was not embarrassing for Joshua. He didn't give it a second thought.  It was as natural to him as breathing.

And it was the key to his success. His relationship with the great I AM was the highest priority in his life, and he bowed down. He fell on his face in worship.

We know the rest of the story. They followed the instructions of the Lord and the walls fell, and they city was taken.

Are you facing a Jericho in your life? Is there something that is before you, that seems insurmountable? Do you look at your life and all you can see is that obstacle? I know. I've been there.

Instead of wringing our hands in worry, or sitting and fretting, or even trying to plan our own ways to handle the problem . . . we should worship. Seems counter-intuitive to us; as humans we want to see a problem and then solve it. But many times we need to look at the problem both as a reminder of our own weakness and of the strength of our mighty Father. And He delights in His children's coming to Him, and leaving their problems with Him:

              Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified 
          because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; 
          he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deut. 31:6)

Worship Him as the strong, devoted Friend that He is. Praise Him for His faithfulness, then leave your problem with Him. He will be faithful. He has promised.

Friday slowdown

This song seemed just right for our reflections today:

Rebekah - don't play favorites

Ready for the fireworks I promised? (Grin)

Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob; it was the same one that he received, and now he is passing it on. But you know, it already belonged to Jacob. God had said that -- He had already blessed Jacob. God is not accepting this deception, don't take that away from our study. Jacob shouldn't have gotten the blessing in this way; God would have gotten it for him, but he (and Rebekah) couldn't wait.

Just after Jacob had received the blessing from Isaac, Esau returned from his successful hunt -- he had cooked the meat just the way that Isaac loved it. To say that Isaac was surprised is an understatement:

 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting.  He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.” Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!” When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”  Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.  His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck."  (v 30-40)

Did you notice that Esau took no responsibility for the bargain that he made with Jacob some time earlier? "He took advantage of me!" "He took my birthright!"  Those sound like the excuses of someone who has lain awake at night, regretting a poor decision, to be sure.

This caused Esau to plan for his revenge:

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides.  When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”  Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.” 

(Those are verses 41-46 of the chapter.)
Anybody know what it's like to have conflict in the family? Yep. It ain't fun. But this was a conflict of Rebekah's (and Isaac's) own making. In order to protect one son from the other, she sent Jacob back to her own family, many miles away. She used the excuse of not wanting Jacob to take a wife from the Hittites, as Esau had done.
She thought it would be only a little while. It actually was many, many years -- in fact, she never saw Jacob again, or her grandkids. That was a heavy price to pay. If only she had trusted the Lord to fulfill His promise; instead, she tried to take control of her future, and what a mess she made, taking it into her own hands, instead of leaving it in God's hands.

Some lessons to be learned from Rebekah's second chapter . . . of course, there is the obvious one: don't play favorites when it comes to your children. Nowadays, it is very common to see this, especially in homes that are on the verge of breaking up; conflict between mom and dad often results in conflict among the kids. One of the worst things we can do is favor one child over the other, or have one parent take the side of one child, and another take the side of a second child. Nothing but heartache here.  Of course, in divorced families, there is a lot of game-playing. There often seems to be a popularity contest between the parents. The best possible thing we can do is try to keep families together, and then try to keep our Lord in the forefront of our homes.

Another lesson from Rebekah's second chapter is this: there are no shortcuts to achieving our life goals. God will make His promises come through, and He doesn't need our maneuvering to make it happen. He is faithful, and He will do as He says. If only Rebekah had remembered that.

The lesson that Jacob will learn all too well is that he is not as clever as he thought. He is going to rue the day that he impulsively followed his mom's instructions. He is going to go back and live with Uncle Laban, and he is going to put Jacob through the wringer. Jacob thought he was clever, but he is going to find out that for cleverness, he needs to learn at the feet of Laban -- he is a master at scheming and manipulating people. Jacob will discover that he is just an amateur, and he will cry out to God in desperation at Laban's tricks.

We can bring years of regret and grief on ourselves when we try to rush ahead of God. Let's covenant with our families to live in love and unity, with no favoritism. Let's work to resolve conflicts in our families before they reach crisis levels. Let's teach our children and grandchildren that we are willing to wait upon the Lord for His promises to be fulfilled.

Rebekah - don't play favorites!

Let's pick up where our story left off on Monday. We had two boys (twins) with very different personalities, and we had two parents who were playing favorites.
Here is the rest of the story, from Genesis 27:1-4:

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”“Here I am,” he answered. 2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

The Bible tells us that Isaac was a very wealthy and powerful man. Both Abimelech and the Philistines came to him to make treaties, because he was feared. That's not to say that he was war-like, but that he was peace-loving, powerful, and a man to be reckoned with. He reveals here, though, that although he followed God, he was giving in to the flesh. He was showing his partiality for Esau, who was the hunter that brought him tasty, barbecued dishes that he loved to eat.

Now, he knows full well that God has said that the elder son will serve the younger, but he is going to try to bypass that, because of his love for Esau.

           And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. (5-10) 

Oh boy. Isaac is not the only one who is playing favorites, is he?
Rebekah has succombed to this, as well.
She heard what Isaac said, and she conceives a deceitful plan. It will be a lie, trickery, whatever you want to call it. It's not right -- and just because it's in the Bible doesn't mean that God condones it. He is recording it, but He condemns lying.

Even though his name means "he grasps the heel" which is a Hebrew idiom for "he deceives," Jacob questions his mother's plan. "This is not going to work," he tells her. "Esau is hairy, and when my father touches me he will know it's me! And he will know I'm trying to deceive him."

Rebekah is so intent on having Jacob receive the best from Isaac that she says:

And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. (13-17)

She's got it covered, doesn't she? She doesn't care at this point that God has already promised that Jacob will be the most blessed. She makes certain that Isaac will feel hairy skin when he touches his son, and he will smell the outdoors and animal smells on the clothing that Jacob is putting on. She is so determined to take things into her own hands, that she is becoming a total liar. And Jacob is buying into it.

And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. (v 18-20)

Ouch! Does he sound like a pious fraud? That's because he is. He sounds just like some people in Christian circles today, who will solemnly say that God led them to do this, and spoke to them to do that . . . and the things they want to do are so close to the edge of being wrong (or maybe truly are wrong) that you know good and well that the Lord didn't move them in that direction!

Here is what happened next:

And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed. (v 21-27)

The deception worked. And now Isaac will give the blessing:

May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness—    an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed. (v28-29)

Oh, boy. You remember what happens next?
Esau comes back with his savory, delicious game that he's prepared for his dad.
We'll see the fireworks going off in tomorrow's study.

What are we listening to?

We've talked before about how music can lift us up and encourage us. It can also calm us. The human mind is soothed by music, and it can help us to be quiet and wait for the Lord.

In II Kings, Elisha knew the calming power of  music:

                      Now bring me someone who can play the harp." While the harp was 
                      being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha, (II Kings 3:15)

The harp is quite different from the jubilant sounds of cymbals and drums that are referred to in other passages.

Do you need to quiet your heart today? Is it hard to tune out the stresses and problems of this world? To focus on Him? Choose a soft and quiet hymn that will direct your thoughts to the Lord.

What are you listening to, today?

Rebekah - don't play favorites!

Last week, we studied the "first chapter" of Rebekah's life that is detailed in the Bible. We saw that she was willing to serve others, and willing to go where God leads. This week we will see a different Rebekah -- one who is not quite on the same track that she was before. This Rebekah wants to take her future in her hands and make sure it turns out the way she wants it to!
First, we'll look at the background for our story . . . when she became Isaac's wife, how did things go?
Let's look at chapter 25 of Genesis:

This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 

20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 

21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 

22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. 

23 The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." 

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 

25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 

26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. 

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 

28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country,famished. 

30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. ) 

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." 

32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 

33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

(Genesis 26:19-34)

Isaac loved Rebekah, but for the first twenty years of their marriage, they had no children. Isaac turned to God for help. He prayed, and God answered his prayer. During her pregnancy, Rebekah began to suspect something unusual was happening: there was more movement in her womb than would be expected. It was so unusual that she went to ask the Lord about it. (We don't know if she went to a prophet or if she simply prayed to the Lord herself. We don't know how God chose to answer, either; it could have been a prophet's words, or a vision or dream.

God told the expectant mother that she was going to have twins -- twins with very different personalities. They would end up going in different directions and founding two different nations. (She had advance warning of family conflict, no?) One of the two would be stronger, but the most important part was this: the older child would serve the younger. In other words, control of the family, leadership, would pass on to the second-born.  The right to lead the family is generally referred to as "the blessing." That's different from the "birthright." The birthright is the double portion of the inheritance when the father dies.

Sounds a lot like what happened between Ishmael and Isaac, right? Even though Ishmael was Abraham's first-born son, the birthright and the blessing both went to Isaac. The general rule of the day was that the blessing went to the first-born, but it didn't happen that way all the time.  God, in His omniscience, looks at things differently from the way humans do. (You might want to check out Romans 9:10-16 to see more of this story.) God foresaw that the blessing would need to follow the second-born son.

Rebekah must have told this to Isaac, after she received this message from God. Isaac would have been aware of God's choice, but over time, he began to favor his eldest son.  Perhaps because of her knowledge that the younger son was God's choice for the blessing, or perhaps to counterbalance her husband's favoritism, Rebekah favored the second-born. (Cue the ominous music here.)

The first boy to be born was covered with reddish hair, so he was named "Esau" which means "hairy." The second boy was born holding onto his brother's heel, and they named him "Jacob," which means "grasping the heel." As the boys grew, Esau became an outdoorsy kind of guy, and a famed hunter. Unfortunately, the fame must have gone to his head a bit, because he also started sleeping around, as they say. He treated righteous living with contempt, according to Hebrews 12. Jacob, on the other hand, was described as a plain and peaceable man; the Hebrew word means a "complete" man. He grew up to be spiritually mature.

Surprisingly, in spite of these traits that he could easily see, Isaac is partial to Esau. Apparently it's not because of his habits with the ladies, but because of the taste of the food that Esau brought him after a hunt. At the same time, Rebekah was partial to Jacob. In this era, we have seen that the eldest son was the one who would receive that double portion of the birthright. The eldest would also receive the blessing which signaled the leadership role after the father's death. It was even more important in this family, for it was the line of the covenant that God made with Abraham. Keep that in mind . . .

One day, Esau comes back from the hunt, and he is really hungry. Perhaps this has been one occasion that he did not have a successful hunt. Seeing the red-bean stew that Jacob was cooking, he begs his brother for a bowl. (The Hebrew words here are very interesting, for they mean that Esau asked to gulp down some of that red stuff!) He is so impatient that he doesn't care what he has to eat; he just knows that he wants something right now! Whether in earnest or as a joke, Jacob offers him a bowl in exchange for Esau's birthright. Here's the shocker -- Esau says OK!

Isaac is an extremely prosperous man. Esau's birthright must have been worth millions in today's dollars, but he casually gives it away for a bowl of stew. Either he thought Jacob was joking, or he had a total disregard for his own life - maybe he figured with his bad habits, he wouldn't live long. At any rate, when Jacob realizes that his twin is serious, he makes Esau take a vow: a formal, you-can't-get-out-of-this agreement. Many people condemn Jacob for this, and say that Jacob took advantage of his brother. Perhaps Jacob should not have asked for the birthright, but Esau should not have disrespected the privilege, and sold it for a bowl of food.

Because of this incident, Esau picks up a nickname: Edom. It means red, and was a constant reminder of his despising his own inheritance enough to sell it for a bowl of stew. He never lived it down, either. The nation that was formed from his descendants was known as Edom. Later the family moves to a different location because of the search for a good water supply. Esau chooses two wives from the idolatrous Hittites, and they are a source of grief and worry to Rebekah and Isaac.

Next time we'll see that even though God has told them that the older shall serve the younger, Isaac tries to give the blessing to his favorite. And Rebekah overhears, and is determined for her favorite to be blessed.

We'll see how that worked out for them.

Friday slowdown

We've been blessed before by this old hymn; it seems just right for this week.