My mind has hopped all over the place this week. (Those of you who know me well will not be surprised by this.) I just love reading scripture that is so familiar and finding things that I hadn't considered before. (For the word of God is living and active...Hebrews 4:12)
The first thing that caught my eye was how many times the Lord either appeared to Abraham or spoke to him. (12:1.4,15:1, 17:1,18:1 and so on.) Do you think Abraham ever took these appearances as "normal" or "everyday"? Something he deserved? I hope that no matter where I am on my journey with Him, that I am always delighted, amazed and surprised by whatever He chooses to reveal to me.
I don't know about you but I have always pictured Sarah looking like Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies. (probably because she was as old or older than Granny when she gave birth to Isaac.) Scripture clearly states that she was a beautiful woman though. (12:14) So, no more "granny" pictures for me.
While Hagar is in the desert with Ishmael, the angel of the Lord speaks to her about Ishmael and says,"He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (16:12) My immediate thought was that Ishmael was going to have a miserable existance because of the declaration of the Lord. It amazes me that she (Hagar) was so accepting of this proclamation. I would have been arguing and pleading for a better life for my child. And yet, she did not. I wonder if it was because she was so grateful that God was going to spare their lives. I'm not sure. But I do love her response. You are the God who sees me. (16:13) What a precious statement. We have a God who sees us.
Other verses that tugged at me in this section were:
Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. Gen. 15:1
Is anything to hard for the LORD? Gen. 18:14
God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Gen. 22:8 (I can feel myself getting ready to sing over this. Do you see my Jesus?)
Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. Gen. 25:8
Then we come to Jacob. It's easy to dislike Jacob sometimes. But I suspect that I have more Jacob in me than I would care to admit. I have always disliked him for tricking Esau out of his birthright and his blessing but this reading brought a fresh thought. "So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob." Gen.25:33 It appears to me that Esau did not particularly value his birthright. While he might have been famished, I'm fairly certain that he was not going to truly die of hunger at that very moment. I think he wanted what he wanted when he wanted it, regardless of the cost. (what good is the birthright to me?) I also suspect that Jacob already knew this about Esau's character. Regardless, it makes me wonder if I truly value the things that I should hold dear. Are my priorities in the right place?
I found it both interesting and somewhat amusing that Isaac repeats the same lie to Abimelech as his father did and that Abimelech fell for it both times. (Gen 26). Then we also have the first reporting of "mother-in-law trouble" in Genesis 26:34-35.
I guess the last big thing that caught my heart was when Jacob took Esau's blessing from Isaac. Not so much the deed itself but the story behind it. Esau appeared to be Isaac's favorite and Jacob was clearly Rebekah's favorite. Rebekah encouraged her son to deceive his father and steal from his brother. It makes me wonder if we as parents promote division or harmony between our children.
I just love delving into His Word. I love discovering whatever it is that He wants me to see. I hope you are just as excited about this journey. May the Lord bless you and keep you this upcoming week. Be sure and check out the blogs at my sidebar and see what great stuff everybody else has to say. Also, if you leave a comment telling me that you posted, that would be wonderful!
Granny - I am laughing. Hagar's response always gets to me, why didn't she ask for more from God or was she so thankful they were alive this was enough for her. Jacob's deceit washes over me each time I read the passage, family dynamics were the same thousands of years ago as they are now...so much to ponder.
ReplyDeletePart 2 is done, I put it in the original post...I will try to shorten my posts...
Dad is better, may be sprung tomorrow. The bleeding stopped and they cannot find the origin. I think our Lord stopped the bleeding with His hand of healing mercy and grace.
Love, Annette
Hey, Karen! I hope I promote harmony instead of division in my family. I love how you put that. I also loved this... "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."
ReplyDeleteI'm not posting, but I will be visiting everyone to read your insights! I LOVE what God is showing you!
Love,
Angie
Some families just need some healing, mercy and grace! I love your understanding of how Rebekah caused such division in her family. We need harmony! Their family seems so dysfunctional, yet we all must see some part of ourselves in this. When I am not totally honest, when I try to manipulate. Lord, have mercy.
ReplyDeleteIt's already so good, isn't it. I have been reading in The Message the last few days, and I love how it phrases God's words to Abraham when He saw he would sacrifice his son in obedience. He said, "Now I know how fearlessly you fear God;..." I hadn't thought about fearlessly fearing God but I want to take that one a step further in my heart. That kind of obedience is fearless and fearing at the same time.
And I still feel sorry for Essau. Especially when he pleads with his "exceeding bitter cry" "Bless me, too, Father!" So much pain in those words in his loss but it was too late. How many of God's wayward will say those words as they stand in judgment?
Thanks for all your thoughts, Karen, Annette, Ang, and all of you--you add so much to my week. Love you, AnnetteG
That we have a God who sees us struck me last year and I have thankfully not forgot it! Esau giving up his birthright for instant gratification spoke to me as well this week.
ReplyDeleteThe frequent appearances of God's presence and His Voice struck me deeply because they came on common ground, while people were going about their lives as in Gen 18:1 when Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day and God showed up! Makes me so want to live my life fully waiting for God to show up, just doing the right things and doing the next thing, not to make life work but to be faithful to my calling, advancing His Kingdom, never knowing when HE may show up. It wasn't at grandiose moments but in the mundane. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteGen 16:13 so jumped out at me!!! I wrote my prayer about the God Who Sees us. I am no alone in my loneliness. He sees all.
Karen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insights. I truly do enjoy and learn from your posts, even if I can't comment each time. I have had so many questions as I have read the past 12 days that it has amazed me. I have read some of this so many times and yet I am finding myself asking questions as if I have never seen this before.
Ok, so my post is not nearly as insightful as the rest, but I am simple-minded, what can I say. Probably why God called me to teach middle school and love it!!!
I finally got mine posted. I also noticed that about Isaac telling the same lie about Rebekah being his sister instead of wife. It makes me think about generational sins that I don't want repeated in the family. And I also thought the same thing you did about how often God appeared or spoke to Abraham, and it made me think about how I don't want to ever miss God! I want to be more aware of Him in my every day life!
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Michelle