Genesis 27
It's amazing what a mess we can make of the blessings of God. We can take the most good and perfect gifts and really make a mangled milieu of things--to the point even where God's presence is unrecognizable.
Isaac (my son) just climbed up on the coffee table and fell off. We've been trying to not allow him to climb up there; we knew he could fall and hurt himself. He's hard headed (like his mother), though, and just refused to listen. With our backs turned, he did it. And he felt it.
Sometimes God let's us fall. Sometimes God must allow us to come low in order that we might look up to Him once again. That's what happened in Genesis 27 and 28. But despite the mess, God's plan remained. His love was steadfast. His eternal purpose was not and could not be thwarted.
Isaac, the son of the promise, was blind--physically and spiritually. He became self-serving in his old age. Rather than heeding God's promise of Genesis 25:23, he followed the desires of his belly (27:4).
Rebekah, who first received the aforementioned promise, was quite a manipulative woman. She may or may not have been acting in faith; regardless, she had a poor relationship with her husband and her other son, Esau.
Esau, who had already despised his birthright, was an ignorant and hedonistic fellow. He was ignorant of the things of God (which is mostly Isaac's fault), evidenced by his poor choice of wives in Genesis 26:34-35.
Jacob, who had prioritized the family blessing in seeking the birthright, was like playdo in the hands of his mother--the ultimate momma's boy. He, too, was blind. God was not his God; God was only his father's God (Genesis 27:20).
What a dysfunctional and faithless family! If we were God, we would have just let them to their own devise and found someone a little more worthy of carrying on the plan for world history and redemption.
One thing is certain, we can never thwart God's plan. He will see His purposes through despite dysfunctional families. He will accomplish His plans despite our manipulative manuevering. He will finish His eternal path despite our ignorant and blind faith. What's amazing is that God will use our mess to accomplish His plans.
I'm sure Jacob's leaving town was painful (Genesis 28:1-5). Rebekah loved him, and never saw him again. Isaac, though he showed favortism toward Esau, surely loved Jacob and longed to have him near during the remainder of his life. And Jacob, I'm definitely sure, was not ready to be confined to another land far away with a bunch of cousins. But God was at work despite the mess. God had a purpose for Jacob and could not allow the ignorance, the manipulation, the hedonism of people to get in the way. He brought Jacob and his family low and there He transformed his life.
God took the initiative (as He always does) and brought the promise of Abraham and Isaac in Jacob's life. He showed Himself to Jacob in a fantastic dream (Genesis 28:10-22). Yahweh was no longer Isaac's God; the awesome and fearful God was now Jacob's God. Jacob was no longer Isaac's son and Esau's twin, he was now on his way to becoming Israel (a "company of peoples", 28:3)
What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into? Turn to God. Look to Christ. Allow Him to accomplish His will in you. You have not messed it up too much. The moment you turn to Him and see things from His perspective is the moment you'll realize He's been there all the while. At that place you'll realize you are exactly where you're supposed to be and in the right place for God to take you where He has already planned for you to go.
