DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- LOVED BY GOD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – LOVED BY GOD

"And Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his game but Rebekah love Jacob." (Genesis 25:28).

Family history is like water that flows under a bridge. It just keeps moving along with some placid pools, and some rough and turbulent rapids. The family of Isaac was a picture of a dysfunctional family. There was deceit, intrigue, and hatred between the members of the family. It was not helped by the favoritism of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was Isaac's favorite son. He was Isaac's kind of son because he was the outdoors type who worked the soil and hunted to provide food, while Jacob loved to stay around the house and cook. He was a "mama's boy" through and through.

Jacob occupied a special position in God's plan, but it was not because he was perfect. His very name, Jacob, means deceiver or supplanter, and it was a character flaw that kept popping its nasty head up through his life. Deceit is a trait that followed through the family from Abraham. Remember that Abraham was not adverse to telling half-truths when he was in Egypt and when he stayed with Abimilech. You can read those stories in Genesis, chapters 12 and 26. Jacob carried on the tradition. We cannot make excuses for Jacob's deceitful nature, but it does account for his actions to acquire the blessing of Isaac. God's plan was for the lineage of the Lord Jesus to come through the line of Jacob, and He can use even our failings to accomplish His will.

In today's scripture, Jacob deceived his father into thinking that he was Esau in order to get the family blessing. This inheritance was more than money and possessions. It was the position of being head of the family, and involved spiritual blessing. Jacob was better suited to spiritual leadership because he had a desire for godly things, as opposed to Esau, whose life was centered on worldly things – hunting, and feeding his belly. Esau means "Hairy," and he was the iconic macho man's man. Of the two, Jacob was the more god-centered, with a sensitive heart to God. This not to imply that men who love the outdoors are less godly than those who would rather keep house. But this was the case with Jacob and Esau. Esau did not have the kind of heart that sought God. In fact, the Scriptures says, "Thus Esau despised his birthright" (Genesis 25:34), and the writer to the Hebrews called him "profane" – a godless and unholy person (Hebrews 12:16). He counted his spiritual birthright as nothing because he disdained spiritual things.

Have you ever wondered about the Scripture where God said, "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated" (Malachi 1:2-3; Roman 9:13). God certainly has the right to love whom He loves and hate whom He hates. God loves the world so much that He gave His life for the souls of men. But there is a special love- connection between Him and those who love Him. So it was with the Apostle John who called himself "the one whom Jesus loved" when writing the Gospel of John. I don't think that it was because Jesus didn't love the other disciples, but there was a special connection between John and Jesus that allowed John to rest his head on Jesus' breast at the last Supper.

If you have a desire for God and godly things, count yourself blessed. People of this world may think you are weird, but you are especially loved by God, and that is worth more than any praise or satisfaction people get from worldly acclaim. You are blessed if you love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and have a heart for spiritual blessing as Jacob did.

Love, Dad