Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Kabul and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Yesterday, Isaac and Rebecca had twin sons and God made an unusual promise to bless the younger one, Jacob, instead of the older one, Esau. We saw God's plan unfolding when older brother Esau sold Jacob the rights to his inheritance in exchange for Lintel stew. And today, we'll take a few more steps in that direction when the sins of both Rebecca and Isaac also play a role in this. Rebecca tricks her husband into giving his blessing to her favorite son, Jacob. And in his heart, Isaac goes against the words of God by intending to bestow his blessing on the child God has not chosen for it. Both parents' sins are warring against each other, though it's worth noting that we can't be 100% sure Rebecca has communicated God's words to Isaac. Jacob isn't sinless here either. Not only that, but in the course of receiving this blessing, he refers to Yahweh as Isaac's God, but not his own. By the way, a blessing is different than an inheritance. It carries more of a spiritual significance than a financial one. It is a very big deal, and once it's given, it's irrevocable. When Isaac is accidentally giving the blessing to Jacob instead of Esau, he uses some of the very same phrases and ideas that God does in 2523. Isaac says, Be Lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Decades earlier, God had said, The older shall serve the younger. Esau, of course, hates this and hates Jacob. But before you feel too sorry for Esau, pay attention to his attitude of entitlement when he denies responsibility for selling his birthright. He never quite understood the weight of it all. On top of that, he threatens to kill Jacob. So Rebecca sends Jacob away to go live with her brother Laban and Heron. That's the Canaanite land where we first met her. As she's sending him off, Isaac warns him, Don't marry a Canaanite woman. You have to marry one of the people in God's family. On his 500 mile journey to Heron, Jacob stops for the night and has a crazy dream where God has connected himself to earth via a ladder. One interesting thing about this is that in John 151, Jesus refers to this scenario and describes himself as this ladder. A ladder where God descends. Not one, man climbs to heaven. That's a crucial distinction. In this dream, God reiterates his promise to give this particular plot of land to Jacob's family. Now remember, this is still the land of their enemies at the time. For the most part, they live there peaceably amidst the Canaanites, but it's not their place of origin. God also reiterates the prophecy of Jesus here when he says, In you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Jesus is the blessing, and he would be born thousands of years later, extending his saving love to people from among every nation, not just from this particular family. Through this one family, all families would be blessed. Jacob isn't even married yet, but God promises him offspring. Again, Jacob is the singular option for carrying out the lineage of God's promise. First of all, that's what God said would happen, but second of all, Esau has already married pagan women outside of God's family. So Jacob is what we've got to work with here. He's not perfect by any means. Meanwhile, we see Esau still being belligerent and rebellious. He marries his first cousin on his half-uncle Ishmael's side, continuing to marry outside the lineage of God's promise. After Jacob's dream, he erects a pillar on that spot. This is important later, but for now, I just want to point out that pillars in those days are typically pagan structures. This is something the Canaanites do, not the people of God. Jacob also makes a big if-then statement at the end of his ceremony, basically saying, if God keeps his promises, then I'll yield to him. Moving on, Jacob finally makes it to the edges of Heron. And like any smart man looking for a wife, he goes to the well. Maybe he's also thirsty, but whatever. While he's at the well, Rachel appears. She was a shepherdess. And by the way, some Jewish historians say this isn't an uncommon job for a girl. In fact, just a quick sidebar. Many historians say that the shepherds the angels appeared to on the night of Christ's birth could have been females. You won't see that in your standard nativity. Just another way Renaissance paintings have possibly misled us. Anyway, Jacob is really excited to find out that this beautiful woman named Rachel is related to him, his first cousin actually, because he knows he has to marry within his family. He asked her father, Laban, if he can marry her, and Laban agrees to let him if Jacob will work for him for seven years. This seems like a good deal to Jacob, except one tiny thing goes wrong. Jacob gets tricked by a false identity, just like he had tricked someone by a false identity. Because of the ancient marriage practices in place at that time, and the fact that the consummation happens at night, in a time that predates electricity, Jacob doesn't discover the deception until after they have already consummated the marriage. So there's no turning back. Kind of like with the blessing he's received. So in another strange turn of events, Jacob bargains for a second life and another seven years of labor. He is not keen on being tricked, and in fact, it didn't work out well for Leah either. Chapter 29 tells us he hated her. And the Hebrew word used here can also just mean unloved, but it's often used in scripture to describe a mortal enemy, someone you're at war with. But as we've talked about before, God seems to have a special affinity for those who are overlooked. He's generous and attentive to Leah, even when Jacob isn't. She becomes pregnant with a series of sons, four to be exact. The names she gives them signal how much striving is in her heart, how very much she just wants to be loved by Jacob. But by the time we reach the fourth son, it seems like she's beginning to learn that God is enough. The fourth son's name means praise. Like most of us, Leah will have to relearn this lesson, so this is not exactly the pretty bow on top that it seems like it might be. Where did you see God's character today? What was your God shot? For me, it was God's sovereignty over the sins of man. We've already noted his sovereignty over the evil of the enemy back when we were in Job, but here we see a new layer of his sovereignty over evil, the evil of our own hearts and actions. Ultimately, Rebekah's manipulation is a tool in God's hands to accomplish his desired outcome. This continues to reveal to us that even sin bends to God's will. It does not thwart his plan. It's not stronger than God. We've seen this since day one in the garden, and Romans 8.28 tells us that even things that aren't good are still used for our good and for his glory. So listen, if you think you've trained Rebekah's life by some sin you've committed that you can't forgive yourself for, let me set your heart at peace. Your Father God is outside of time. He knew all the things you'd do wrong as a human, a parent, a spouse, a friend, and he knows all the sins you haven't even committed yet. And from that vantage point, he says he's working it all out, for your good and for his glory. Take heart. He's with you. And he's where the joy is. OK Bible readers, it's time for our weekly check-in. How are you doing? What have you learned so far? If you're off schedule, you need to know there's no such thing as being behind. You read your Bible today. That's amazing. In today's reading, we saw how God is sovereign over all things, including our own sin. Nothing is too big or too bad for him. He knows all the sins you'll ever commit, and he still chose to offer you grace and mercy. He even promises that he's big enough to use our sin somehow for his glory and our good. He works all things together, the good, the bad, and the ugly, for the good of those who love him. That means that even if you're off schedule in our reading plan, he is still somehow working that for your good. The more you lean into reading his word, the easier it will be to learn his character and to trust his promises. He meets you there with joy. So we'll see you back here tomorrow. I'm cheering you on.
