Mike and I play that game all the time: for a MILLION dollars…would you run down the street naked? For a MILLION dollars, would you shave your head? For a MILLION dollars would you…blah blah blah….oh the scenarios we have come up with over the years. But one thing that has surprised me over the years, I’d pretty much do anything for a million dollars. No, no, you are right, that is NOT a good thing. It’s rather sad really, and I realize this. We’ve had some tough years behind, and we’ve come a LONG way, but we still have times of struggle. And I think because I work so long, and work so hard, I’ve come to the conclusion: Dana will do anything for money. I’m tired and instant gratification works for me. LOL
How sad is that? :::sigh:::
And yes, you are right, it’s Saturday night, time for me to put the finishing touches on my Sunday School lesson for the morning. And April, no reading ahead this time. 😉 I’m onto you….
This is another lesson that they have crammed SO MUCH into it, it’s hard to really bite a good piece off and chew on…my only regret with this curriculum we use.
Anyway, Jacob and Esau.
Story opens with Rebekah pregnant with them and wishing she would die (my paraphrasing, but it’s accurate) because they are so turbulent in her stomach. She goes to God and asks Him what is going on, and this is what He says: Gen. 19:23
Two nations are in your womb,
two peoples butting heads while still in your body.
One people will overpower the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
Esau was born hairy and Isaac’s favorite because they shared the love of hunting and sport. Jacob was quieter and preferred life among the tents, and he was Rebekah’s favorite.
First lesson here: don’t play favorites. Duh.
The story continues with Jacob cooking yummy yummy stew, and Esau coming in all hungry and “What’s for dinner…I’m starving….” Jacob, being apparently smarter than his brother, tells him to trade him his birthright for the stew.
Esau of COURSE says NO! Of course not! I am the firstborn, it is my right to a larger portion of the inheritance and to succeed Dad as head of the household!
And they all lived happily ever after.
Wait.
Except that….Esau is profoundly stupid. And he AGREES to give up his birthright for STEW! That had better have been some DARN good stew. DARN GOOD STEW! Wait….no….not even I’m that dumb to trade a bowl of watery vegetables for money….It’s NO SIR to Jacob from the peanut gallery!
But Esau….well….let’s hope he got the looks in the family because he’s sorely lacking in brains.
Lesson #2: Jacob was cunning and sneaky, and Esau was immature and dumb. He was in it for the instant gratification.
Kind of like eating pecan pie…it’s so YUMMY at the time…but working out that extra 30 min to get it OFF my big butt, is NO FUN! ahem…not that I did that or anything…. really….
Anyway, it’s not about me…. 😉
Skipping ahead in the story, Isaac grows seriously old, and blind, and calls Esau the Dumb to him to bless him. (Let’s hope it is with some BRAINS, but probably not) He tells Esau to go and kill some game and to fix him a last meal before he dies so that he may give him his blessing.
(and this is where it gets SO soap-opera-ish! Oh sit down and snuggle in with your popcorn, it gets GOOD! This could be on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy!)
Rebekah, being the good, kind wife, eavesdrops and then goes to hatch a plan with Jacob to STEAL the blessing! She tells him to GO and get some goats, and she will make the stew, and then cover his arms and neck with the goat hair to trick Isaac!
(Maybe it’s more along the lines of Jerry Springer? Someone seriously needs some Dr Phil though! WOW!)
Wives: this is where I have to interject a little wisdom. Seriously now, don’t undermine your husband, especially with your children. It is so disrespectful and teaches your children to disrespect him as well. It’s just bad. Don’t do it. When your children are grown and gone, you are left with what relationship you nurtured while the kids were young.
Mental note: I need to go out with Mike a lot more….
Gen: 27:18-24 He went to his father and said, “My father!” “Yes?” he said. “Which son are you?” Jacob answered his father, “I’m your firstborn son Esau. I did what you told me. Come now; sit up and eat of my game so you can give me your personal blessing.” Isaac said, “So soon? How did you get it so quickly?” “Because your God cleared the way for me.” Isaac said, “Come close, son; let me touch you—are you really my son Esau?” So Jacob moved close to his father Isaac. Isaac felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He didn’t recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s. But as he was about to bless him he pressed him, “You’re sure? You are my son Esau?” “Yes. I am.”
Several times there, Jacob had the opportunity to tell the truth. But he didn’t.
And Isaac blessed him:
of Heaven’s dew
and Earth’s bounty of grain and wine.
May peoples serve you
and nations honor you.
You will master your brothers,
and your mother’s sons will honor you.
Those who curse you will be cursed,
those who bless you will be blessed.
It would be the equivalent to us praying over our children to have good jobs, be successful, and God to provide for them.
And you KNOW that in the end, all of our misdeeds are always found out…
Esau returned and is understandably furious. I do feel sorry for Esau the Dumb here. He realizes that what his father has done, cannot be undone. There is no blessing left for him.
And in the case of all good dramas, a plot to kill is hatched! Esau swore to kill Jacob when Isaac died, so Jacob fled his family.
How sad. Every member of this family is at fault here for something. It’s no ONE persons fault, and in the end, all of them had to pay a very dear price for it.
We all have consequences for our actions, whether we like it or not. We cannot act stupidly without paying the price for it. Always. It’s the law of the land. What is done in secret, will be revealed in the open. If we do things we know we should not be doing….it will be found out. Somehow. Somewhere. By someone. And we will have to pay the consequences of those actions. Every time.
But in the end, God reveals Himself to Jacob in a beautiful way. He dreams of Heaven and God promises him this: Gen 28:13-15
“I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”
I think that is BEAUTIFUL! Even though Jacob was a lying sneak, God still had plans for him! Jacob, lying in all of his filthy sin, was approached by God Himself. Seriously….how cool is that? We don’t wake up one day and suddenly decide to be good and never sin again, and God takes us then… It’s when we are lying like Jacob in all of our grossness, that God wants us. He’s waiting for all of us, no matter what we’ve done, and that just makes me all weak in the knees to hear that. I don’t have to be perfect. I have to be forgiven. I have to be saved. And God loves me. That can pretty much get me through anything….
This is the story of Jacob’s journey with God and his growing faith.
We all should have one of those. I guess this dumb blog shows my journey with God. It at least shows a big part of my journey. And I am a different person than I was last year or 5 years ago. My faith has grown by leaps and bounds. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. Oh it is definitely worth it. And I know, as I sit here and type this….
I know I’m no where near the end of it.
That’s exciting. Are you on a journey of faith?