Hope for Our Failures
Opening Prayer
God, speak to me this morning through Your Word. May I hear Your voice clearly.
Read Genesis 27:41—28:9
[41] Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” [42] When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. [43] Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. [44] Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. [45] When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” [46] Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.” [1] So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. [2] Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. [3] May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. [4] May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” [5] Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. [6] Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” [7] and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. [8] Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; [9] so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Our stories are like pieces in God’s puzzle. Try to picture a big puzzle. Where do you fit? Our week began with the search for a wife for Isaac; now it is his son’s turn. Yet notice thedifferent approach. Abraham was very clear that Isaac should not go back to the place where hisrelatives were living (Gen. 24:6,8). Isaac, however, had no such qualms.We’re not told why Abraham was so adamant that Isaac should not go back. Perhaps it is thesame principle that was at play when the angel of the Lord rescued Lot and his wife from Sodomand told them not to look back (Gen. 19). It’s too easy to get dragged back into the past. Indeed,Jacob ended up living with Laban for 20 years (Gen. 31:38), in a situation that causedconsiderable heartache for the whole family.Yet through this messed-up family God founded the twelve tribes of Israel and fulfilled hispromise to Abraham.The enemy loves to keep us from God’s best for us by reminding us of past failures. This story isa reminder that, even when we make huge mistakes, God’s plans are not thwarted by our errors.Our week began with the search for a wife for Isaac; now it is his son’s turn. Yet notice the different approach. Abraham was very clear that Isaac should not go back to the place where his relatives were living (Gen. 24:6,8). Isaac, however, had no such qualms.
We’re not told why Abraham was so adamant that Isaac should not go back. Perhaps it is the same principle that was at play when the angel of the Lord rescued Lot and his wife from Sodom and told them not to look back (Gen. 19). It’s too easy to get dragged back into the past. Indeed, Jacob ended up living with Laban for 20 years (Gen. 31:38), in a situation that caused
considerable heartache for the whole family.
Yet through this messed-up family God founded the twelve tribes of Israel and fulfilled his promise to Abraham.
The enemy loves to keep us from God’s best for us by reminding us of past failures. This story is a reminder that, even when we make huge mistakes, God’s plans are not thwarted by our errors.
Apply
Maybe you have made wrong choices that you feel are holding you back. Take some time to confess them to God.
Closing prayer
Father, take my brokenness and transform it—create from my mess a testimony for Your glory.
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