DAY 11

WHICH WAY ARE YOU LOOKING?

THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC & JACOB

Genesis 27 & 28 and Matthew 8:18-34

When you read the Scriptures which way do you look, or do you look both ways?

In Genesis 27 & 28 if you look at it in one direction, the direction of what the humans are doing, then you get one impression. You see in Genesis 27 Jacob and his mother manipulating the situation, lying, and in verse 20 he invokes the Lord in his ruse. In Genesis 28 we see Esau out of anger purposely marry someone his family isn’t fond of. You have to love the Bible’s sheer honesty in portraying life. If these stories were made up, then they no doubt would have been sanitized.

Look the other way, toward God, and we see a different story. We see God’s remarkable response to Genesis 27, He reaffirms his promise. The promise He made to Abraham, the promise he made to Isaac, He now makes to Jacob, immediately after Jacob has stolen the birthright! You might have thought God would have taken a stricter action. The manner of God engaging Jacob is dramatic; a dream, Jacob’s Ladder as it is called. At the top of the ladder is God who then pronounces the promise.

The point when you look this way: God’s behavior is not dependent upon ours.

Matthew 8:18-34 continues the short bursts of Jesus that we have been addressing in the last few days. We have moved from short sayings now to action. Jesus discusses the cost of following him, calms a storm, and then heals two demon-possessed man.

I find it curious that in the Old Testament I am reading all these machinations of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while at the say time observing God in action. In the New Testament Jesus is so prominent, so directly showing God’s nature that I do not see the "human direction" per se. It is there, but Jesus' presence overshadows it for me as I read. In fact since the beginning of chapter 5 Jesus has been remarkably front and center. Sooner or later there will be the errant comment from Peter, and sooner than later the Pharisees will begin the harassment in earnest. For now however Jesus is reinforcing what I see about God in the two Genesis chapters – that God is not dependent on our behavior. Jesus certainly bears this point.

Maybe in the end that is why God can describe himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When I think about this description, after all I have read about these three gentlemen, it is obvious that God condescends to describe himself so. For God this condescension is not an issue. He knows himself, and who he is working through, often regardless and in spite of themselves.

We have learned much about human nature, and about God in these first 28 chapters, I suggest when reading the Scriptures, make sure you look both ways.