Things to watch for as you read: (In no particular order)
1) See the contrast between those who chose a believing spouse and those who chose a non-believing spouse. It certainly isn’t that the believing spouses were perfect, yet we see how often the unbelieving spouses participate in their partner being led astray. Perhaps a classic chicken or egg… question is: “Did these people choose unbelieving spouses who led them astray?” Or “Was their choice of an unbelieving spouse a reflection of a heart that had already turned away?” Example #1 of this is Esau at the end of Chapter 26.
2) Like Father like son. We see Isaac repeating the same sin of his Father Abraham, passing off his wife as his sister because he was afraid he’d get killed. We then see Jacob having a favorite wife (wrong on so many levels) and a favorite son. Then Jacob’s sons engage in the sort of trickery that their father did at their age.
3) The sting of being a childless woman. When you read of women being childless or barren, keep in mind that ancient near eastern society was heavily patristic. Men were the owners of everything, and the most important thing in such a society was to have a male heir to take possession of the family’s land and herds when the father died. So there was great pressure on women to bear their husband a son. It was considered their main role in that society, and any woman who could not do so thought herself a failure as a woman, and society looked upon her as a failure as well. Of course, I mention this so that we can have a greater understanding of the world they lived in and certainly not to condone.
4) God’s will works even through human sin and shame. He uses evil for good (like with Joseph), and even a child born from an incestuous/prostitutional relationship in the line of the Savior. Of course, the ultimate form working through human sin and evil comes in Christ’s crucifixion which heals us of our sin and shame. The patriarchs (Abraham’s family) did sinful things that make us blush still today, yet God was still gracious to them. And if he didn’t turn away from these people when they did these heinous things, when we’re troubled by our sin, we don’t need to worry that he’s turned away from us.
5) Pay special attention to Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49. Which son will have the Savior come from his descendants?
Keep the questions and comments flowing!
May the Lord bless your reading! Have a great week!
Join the discussion.
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Phil Huebner
Pastor Huebner has been the pastor of Christ the King Palm Coast, FL since its beginning. He came to Palm Coast in 2007 to start the church as a brand new mission church. He has overseen CTK from its start with just three families that met in his living room. Now he serves as pastor of a very large congregation with many wonderful families!
2 Comments
SaraAnn
Reading Genesis 22. Abraham is tested. God tells him to sacrifice his son. What amazes me about this is the trust Isaac has. His father tells him God will provide the sacrifice and in the next moment Abraham is binding him up and laying him on the altar.We hear nothing of Isaac protesting or struggling and Abraham is an old man, Isaac could have gotten away from him but he didn’t. Truly interesting.
SaraAnn
Where there is faith there is life. There have been many occurrences of barren woman in the bible. Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth are all examples. When I think of the word barren I think of a desert. A very empty desolate place. Notice how these women are all blessed with a child through a promise from God and what was once barren is now fruitful and full of life and when born all 3 dedicated their lives to serving God in their own way. I feel this is comparable to our old Adam, our desolate, empty selves once being blessed with the promise of salvation become alive in Christ and produce fruits of faith we can devote to God.