The Word for today:
Genesis 27:1-45
Genesis 27:1-45
mark this: Genesis 27:15-19 --
Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them. She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck. Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread. Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?"
"Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it – Esau or Jacob?"
Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."
Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them. She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck. Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread. Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?"
"Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it – Esau or Jacob?"
Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."
The Bible introduces us to ourselves before it introduces us to Jesus. (1)
One of the great truths of the Bible is how absolutely truthful it is about me. It knows me better than I know myself. It provides no place for me to hide from myself, and no way for me to fool myself about who I really am.
One of the great truths of the Bible is how absolutely truthful it is about me. It knows me better than I know myself. It provides no place for me to hide from myself, and no way for me to fool myself about who I really am.
There isn't a character in the Bible for whom I have more affinity than I have for Jacob. In fact, when I first encountered Jacob, I had the unsettling feeling that I was meeting myself. Somewhere in the Bible, you too will have a close encounter with yourself.
Jacob c'est moi.
Jacob was a schemer, always playing the angles and cutting the corners. He was a deceiver who made it seem like he was someone he was not.
Jacob was a schemer, always playing the angles and cutting the corners. He was a deceiver who made it seem like he was someone he was not.
But God would not let him get away with his schemes and "seems." God was about to introduce Jacob to himself...
The chickens come home to roost. (2)
Jacob was the supreme flim-flam artist; that is, until he met Uncle Laban--the con of cons!
Jacob was the supreme flim-flam artist; that is, until he met Uncle Laban--the con of cons!
Uncle Laban tricked Jacob by pretending the older daughter was the younger--just as Jacob had tricked his father by pretending to be his older brother Esau.
As I am seeing myself in Jacob, Jacob is seeing himself in Uncle Laban:
Franklyn, meet Jacob. Jacob, meet your uncle Laban...
Franklyn, meet Jacob. Jacob, meet your uncle Laban...
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(1) see John 2:25
(2) see Genesis 29:25; cf. Galatians 6:7; cf. Psalm 7:15
(1) see John 2:25
(2) see Genesis 29:25; cf. Galatians 6:7; cf. Psalm 7:15
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